Fix Yourself, Not the World

As the lead singer of Britain's the Wombats, Matthew Murphy always seems to have one foot on the podium to pop success and the other on a banana peel. It's a wryly amusing balancing act he manages to pull off yet again on the band's fifth studio album, 2022's Fix Yourself, Not the World. The record arrives three years after the equally potent Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life and also follows Murphy's 2020 solo project, Wherever I Go, I Want to Leave. As with those albums, Fix Yourself, Not the World is another deep dive into Murphy's psyche, where literate lyrics rife with self-loathing and allusions to substance abuse are married to the group's highly kinetic post-punk grooves and '90s-style Brit-pop hooks. It's an appealing combination, bringing to mind the self-aware pop irony of classic bands like the Kinks, Blur, and Pulp. There's also a bit of a louche decay to the Wombats that evokes the work of actor Steve Coogan and his performances in films like 24 Hour Party People and The Trip where he plays characters whose hedonistic, self-destructive tendencies belie their broad intellect and desire for an intense emotional connection in life. This a very poignant dichotomy and one that elevates anthems here such as "Flip Me Upside Down," "Everything I Love Is Going to Die," and "If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming with You." Often, as on the latter track, it's purposefully unclear if Murphy is directing his thoughts to a lover or himself. He sings, "You know I'll do/Whatever you want me to/Throw a banquet in a mosh pit/I'll get out of bed/Stop listening to Radiohead/Take you out of this/Your reluctant optimist." That ironic dissonance between self-love and self-loathing is what makes Fix Yourself, Not the World such a thrilling and thoughtful pop experience. ~ Matt Collar