Glitterbug is the third major studio album by British rock band The Wombats. The album was produced by Mark Crew alongside the band themselves, and was released on the 13th of April 2015.[1] The first single from the album, "Your Body Is a Weapon", was released on iTunes on the 2nd of October 2013 in the United Kingdom and the 3rd of December in the United States. This was followed by "Greek Tragedy", "Give Me a Try", "Be Your Shadow" and "Emoticons". To celebrate the album's release, the Glitterbug B Sides EP was released on the same day. The album entered the UK charts at #5 and reached #2 in Australia, as well as charting at #91 in the US, becoming the band's first to appear in the Billboard 200. The band supported the album with their Glitterbug Tour 2015.

Glitterbug
Studio album by
Released13 April 2015
Studio
Various
Genre
Length39:31
Label14th Floor, Bright Antenna (US)
Producer
The Wombats chronology
This Modern Glitch
(2011)
Glitterbug
(2015)
Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life
(2018)
Singles from Glitterbug
  1. "Your Body Is a Weapon"
    Released: 2 October 2013
  2. "Greek Tragedy"
    Released: 14 January 2015
  3. "Give Me a Try"
    Released: 11 March 2015
  4. "Be Your Shadow"
    Released: 23 May 2015
  5. "Emoticons"
    Released: 28 September 2015

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
DIY     [4]
The Guardian     [5]
Exclaim!7/10[6]
The Irish Times     [7]
NME6/10[8]
Pitchfork Media5.7/10[9]
Renowned for Sound     [10]
Rolling Stone Australia     [11]

Glitterbug has received mixed reviews from critics, with XFM describing it as "outstanding" and "full of wit, heart and huge singalong choruses".[12] It has also been described as The Wombats' "finest album to date".[13] Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review, singling out "The English Summer" and "Isabel" as "terrific".[11] Renowned for Sound claims that The Wombats "don't step wrong once, with every song having a particular merit to it that makes it worth repeating again and again."[10] Rebecca M. Williams of Exclaim! wrote that "while their approach is a little aggressive at times, making it a little too much to take in at once, Glitterbug is full of tracks that prove there's no reason not to indulge in it."[6] However, Michael Hann from The Guardian described the album as "desperately un-involving."[5]

Glitterbug was named one of the best 30 albums of 2015 by Radio X.[14]

Track listing edit

All tracks written by Matthew Murphy. All tracks produced by Murphy, Dan Haggis, Tord Øverland Knudsen, and Mark Crew, except "Your Body Is A Weapon", produced by Murphy, Haggis, Knudsen, and Eric Valentine.

No.TitleLength
1."Emoticons"4:19
2."Give Me a Try"3:48
3."Greek Tragedy"3:29
4."Be Your Shadow"3:35
5."Headspace"3:54
6."This Is Not a Party"2:59
7."Isabel"3:29
8."Your Body Is a Weapon"3:57
9."The English Summer"2:36
10."Pink Lemonade"3:46
11."Curveballs"3:39
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Sex and Question Marks"2:18
13."Flowerball"3:47
HMV exclusive B-sides EP
No.TitleLength
1."Right Click Save" 
2."21st Century Blues" 
3."Wired Differently" 
4."Greek Tragedy" (Bastille Remix) 

Personnel edit

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[15]

  • Matthew Murphy – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, production
  • Dan Haggis – drums, percussion, keyboards, guitars, backing vocals, production
  • Tord Øverland Knudsen – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, production
  • Mark Crew – production and recording on all tracks except "Your Body Is a Weapon"
  • Eric Valentine – production and recording on "Your Body Is a Weapon"
  • Oliver Nelson – additional production on "This Is Not a Party"
  • Manny Marroquinaudio mixing
  • Stephen Marcussenaudio mastering
  • Alex Gilbert – A&R
  • Jeffrey P. Chang – A&R assistant
  • Conor O'Mahony – coordination
  • Storm Yeechong – coordination
  • Samuel Burgess-Johnson – artwork
  • Darren Oorloff – artwork
  • Dan Priddy – recording assistant to Mark Crew
  • Cian Riordan – recording assistant to Eric Valentine
  • Chris Galland – mixing assistant
  • Ike Schultz – mixing assistant
  • Jeff Jackson – mixing assistant
  • Willy Scooby – additional recording
  • Zorg Albini – additional recording
  • Jon Sagis – additional recording
  • Darren Jones – recording assistant to Jon Sagis
  • Robert Whitely – additional recording
  • Justin Long – additional recording

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 60,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ NME.COM (18 December 2014). "The Wombats announce details of new album 'Glitterbug' - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Glitterbug by The Wombats". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Glitterbug - The Wombats - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  4. ^ "The Wombats - Glitterbug". 5 April 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b Hann, Michael (9 April 2015). "The Wombats: Glitterbug review – desperately uninvolving third album from indie bigtimers". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b Williams, Rebecca M. (14 April 2015). "The Wombats - Glitterbug". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  7. ^ "The Wombats: Glitterbug - Album Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  8. ^ NME.COM (8 April 2015). "The Wombats - 'Glitterbug' - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ^ "The Wombats: Glitterbug Album Review - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Album Review: The Wombats - Glitterbug". 8 April 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Rolling Stone Australia — Album Review: The Wombats - Glitterbug". Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Album Of The Week: The Wombats - Glitterbug". Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  13. ^ "The Wombats play Bristol's O2 Academy this week as the world awaits the release of new album 'Glitterbug'". 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  14. ^ "The Wombats – Glitterbug". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  15. ^ Glitterbug (Media notes). The Wombats. 14th Floor Records. 2015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Wombats – Glitterbug". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Wombats – Glitterbug" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Wombats – Glitterbug" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Wombats – Glitterbug" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  20. ^ "Officialcharts.de – The Wombats – Glitterbug". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  21. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 16. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Wombats – Glitterbug". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  23. ^ "The Wombat | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  24. ^ "The Wombats Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  25. ^ "The Wombats Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  26. ^ "The Wombats Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  27. ^ "The Wombats Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  28. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  29. ^ "British album certifications – The Wombats – Glitterbug". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 December 2018.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/glitterbug-deluxe-version/id955812139?ign-mpt=uo%3D2