Will we be dancing to Joy Division or fleeing to Tokyo? Album number 6 from The Wombats is here.

The Wombat’s first album ‘A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation very much leapt into the indie zeitgist in 2007 with a succession of monster singles. ‘Kill the Director,’ ‘Moving to New York’ and the indie night club slaying ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Divsion.’ Matthew Murphy had an instinctive ear for a quirky but catchy lyric and musically they fitted right into the dominant styles of the mid noughties. Never the most prolific group, they have kept coming back every 3 or 4 years with a new album with a smattering of monster singles along the way. They are also responsible for one of the best indie Christmas tracks of all time in ‘Is This Christmas?’

‘Oh! The Ocean’ came out of the blocks strongly with two singles of immense quality. ‘Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come’ struck a chord with introverts everywhere with its wry take on the social anxiety of going to a party you don’t really want to be at. ‘I’m aware that I’m the problem… But that doesn’t solve the problem’ It even picked up a lot of support on BBC Radio One, Two and Six which is a trick most of their mid-noughties’ contemporaries would love to be able to pull off.

‘Blood on the Hospital Floor’ came next and is as catchy as anything they have released. High tempo, high energy, absolute classic Wombats. Then came ‘My Head Is Not My Friend’ which fits into a long line of their tracks driven by anxiety and mental health concerns. By no means bad, it didn’t quite fizz the way the first two did. Equally ‘Can’t Say No’ is fine, but a little bit Wombats by numbers.

So, onto the unheard stuff. Overall this is a very strong collection of tracks. ‘I Love America and She Hates Me,’ ‘Grim Reaper’ and ‘Swerve’ are all great addittions to their canon. It very much cements their place towards the head of the British Indie pack. A greatest hits Wombats set remains a thrilling and fun proposition as anyone at their hour long Radio One Stage headline set at last year’s Reading Festival will attest to.

Anyone who already loves The Wombats will absolutely love this new collection. For the uninitiated, this a strong starting point to start exploring the band from.