On November 15th, British indie heroes The Wombats released their new single from their upcoming 2022 album Fix Yourself, Not The World. “Everything I Love Is Going to Die” is “an upbeat homage to living life to the fullest while we still can.” That sums it up pretty well. However, there’s so much to this song that is The Wombats at their best, which is absolutely incredible given how these tracks were written and recorded.
While the sound of the track is classic Wombats – that is to say, indie rock perfection – the recording process is incredible. Like most of us, The Wombats were slightly derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the writing process was mostly done in person together in Los Angeles, the recording process happened with each member in different parts of the world sending individual tracks to producers. “With Murph in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis in London, they discussed each day’s plan via Zoom, then recorded separately, sending individual files to producers Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey), Paul Meaney (Twenty One Pilots, Nothing But Thieves) and Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag‘n’Bone Man) to mix into the finished tracks.”
How this track sounds so cohesive when it was recorded in such a disjointed manner is beyond me. I was a huge fan of The Wombats’ 2015 album Glitterbug, and “Everything I Love Is Going to Die” is just as much of a sing-along as the best songs off that album (i.e. “Give Me A Try,” “Greek Tragedy,” and “Headspace”). The hook is catchy, the guitar work in the chorus is cool, and the drums are metronomic, which suits this style perfectly. While the song’s title might seem pessimistic, the song itself is not.
And that’s why I think anyone in need of a pick-me-up should check it out. The message might seem nihilistic, but the rest of the lyrics dictate that we should be present in every second of every day in order to truly live life to the fullest. Check it out below, and be sure to get tickets to see The Wombats on tour in early 2022! They’ll be in North America for January and February, and they’ll be in Europe and the UK in April and May!