l-r Matthew 'Murph' Murphy, Dan Haggis, Tord Øverland-Knudsen
'A guide to love, loss and desperation' flirted with playful melancholy and story-telling. Twined with vocal harmonies, The Wombats have achieved a sound that is enjoyably recognisable. So when the drummer of The Wombats, Dan Haggis, told me exclusively about their upcoming album, I had to satisfy the curiosity of the pop-indie nation and find out more...
It was back in 2003 when the guys enrolled at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Here their music evolved, and the enthusiasm has carried its' way through seven years of constant gigging and writing.
The guys are enthusiastic as ever when embarking on new material. They've written 20 songs for the album so far, and are still writing as if their pens were on fire. “We want to keep writing as many songs as possible right up till when we go in the studio”, explains Dan. “We always feel there's an even better song just round the corner..so far each corner has treated us well!”
The guys are currently recording in the US. “We flew out to LA at the end of May to work on a few songs with a producer who is based there”, spills Dan excitedly. He's talking about Jack Knife Lee. Having worked with the likes of U2, Bloc Party and Editors, it promises to be another electronica-enthused pop masterpiece. “ We hope to then record the bulk of the album in July”.
The Wombats have their own recognisable sound; A modern delivery with retro twists entwining vocal harmonies and synth melodies. Yet in the beginning the band gave us a much different finishing sound, with fourth guitarist, Ben. Surely he musty be kicking himself for leaving? “Ben was a legend! It was when he left that we started do more backing vocals etcetera to fill up the place of the second guitar, so without that we wouldn't sound he way we do today”.
“We have naturally tried to challenge ourselves in every aspect of the band, but we still have the same approach which is to make every song as interesting as possible from start to finish”. Recent single My Circuit-board City is solid evidence for this. “We all play synths on the new album which means the sounds we use are more diverse and so people should notice a difference”.
Wait, you all play synths on your new album? Does that mean Dan's stripping back on the drums for a few tracks?
He enlightens us. “Haha...well i play the piano too so I thought why not try to add the two together! Our guitar technician made me a little stand for a keyboard and off I went! It's been a good challenge but as with everything it just takes a bit of practice”, reveals Dan, whose just spent his time off in France.
“My girlfriend lives in Paris so I spend a few weekends a month there. I did French at Uni for 2 yrs so I've been honing the old language skills too”. Don't be surprised if there's a continental influence on the next album then...
When discussing the infamous second album pressure, Dan admits that the band have found it difficult at times. “Obviously it's up and down”, he confesses. “One day we think we've nearly got all the songs we need then the next day things wont seem quite as rosy. I think that's a frustrating but important part of being a musician because it means you never get lazy”.
The Wombats have had an intense touring schedule, and finding time to write on the road has been a challenge. “We were touring non stop for two years. We only made three songs together [during this period] as we never had time to write apart from the odd sound-check here and there! It took us a few months of writing and rehearsing before we got used to not being on tour, and since then it's been really good”.
I ask Dan if they approach songwriting in the same way now they're more 'ahem' mature. Well, that attribute is according to their PR. Singer Matthew 'Murph' Murphy reckons they're 'growing backwards'. Dan explains however that although he's taking on a Benjamin Button style growth-spurt, it's Murph who comes up with the basis of the songs.
We play around with it for several days till we are all happy. We usually add things collectively and it's a fun creative process. Some songs we have made for this album have started off as a rough idea one of us has had then we play around it for a while before Murph goes away and write lyrics and finishes it off”.
It's clear that The Wombats have come a long way since the release of their first single, 'Backfire at the Disco'. As a band who would aim for awkward silences at their gigs in the name of humour, it feels unlikely that would be the chosen reaction today. “We never really cared whether the audience got our babbling nonsense or our music”, he explains confidently. I think today we are fortunate enough that the fans at our gigs are amazing and they just want to have a good time. They make our lives on stage a lot easier”.
The sight of Dan's multi-tasking is sure to be an eye-opener at live shows, and I'm informed there won't be long to wait before checking out the octopus-man himself. “We do have some dates pencilled in but not till after the summer as we want to put all our time and energy into recording the album”. We do miss touring though. Not long now...”, exclaims Dan.
Any tips on how we can kill the time away until then? "I'd recommend reading was 'The Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell! Amazing". Will do Dan, once I finished your recommended read, I think I'll just dance to Joy Division.
Click here to check out My Circuit-board City on The Wombats Myspace.
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