1) The Wombats (TWB)… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists that share this name:
1) The Wombats (TWB) are a three-piece indie band which formed in 2003 in Liverpool, England. The band consists of Matthew Murphy (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, vocals) and Dan Haggis (drums, vocals). Murphy and Haggis are native Liverpudlians and Øverland-Knudsen is Norwegian. The members met while they were students at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The band has released four albums, "A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation" (2007) and "This Modern Glitch" (2011), “Glitterbug” (2015) and “Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life” (2018). Although, their fifth album is on it’s way, the first single “Method To The Madness” was released May 26th.
Early Years 2003 - 2006
The three met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The school gave them the chance to play gigs to over 20,000 people in China. This was one of the band's first trips to play outside the UK. They spent their time traveling around the country in a Vauxhall Agila and spent most of their time drunk, as quoted by the band while on the Colin Murray show in 2007. Their debut single Lost in the Post/Party in a Forest (Where's Laura) was released at the end of 2006. They also managed to release an album in Japan called Girls, Boys and Marsupials and reached fame over in the Far East.
A Guide To Love Loss & Desperation (AGTLL), 2007 -
The band then released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York in January, 2007. This single got critical acclaim from Radio DJs such as Colin Murray and Zane Lowe. In May the band released their third single called Backfire at the Disco this then lead to the band successfully released their first full single Kill the Director in late July. This single managed to reach #35 in the U.K Singles Chart. Their last single "Let's Dance To Joy Division" was released in October 2007, to coincide with the release of their debut album, entitled The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation which managed to get to #11 in the U.K charts. The release is being followed by a European tour ending with a Christmas party at Liverpool Academy. Moving to New York will be re-released on January 14, 2008.
This Modern Glitch (TMG), 2011 -
The first single that are in this album was released back in 2007, under the name 'Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves), and reached #23 in UK charts. The second single was 'Jump Into The Fog', that came out 2011, with three B-sides, 'How I Miss Sally Bray', 'Valentine' and 'Addicted to the Cure'. This single debuted in #35 on UK charts. The next single was 'Anti-D', from
april of 2011, and also came out with three B-sides, 'I'm a Robot Like You', 'Dear Hamburg' and 'Wonderful Distraction'. This single reached #42 on UK charts. We had another single in June of 2011, the first after the album release, called 'Techno Fan' also coming out in a EP format, with the tracks 'Avalanche', 'Trampoline' and 'Shock Goodbyes and P45's'. It was #60 on UK charts. The next single was 'Our Perfect Disease' , which was also released after the album, having 'Guillotine', 'IOU's' and 'Reynold's Park' as B-sides. The last single was '1966', still in 2011.
The album itself was released on 22th April, 2011, having really good reviews on BBC Music, All Music Channel, Daily mirror and 59/100 on Metacritic. It reached #3 in UK's album chart, receiving gold in UK and Australia.
Discography
Albums
- "Girls, Boys and Marsupials" Released in 2006, Vinyl Junkie (Japan Only)
- "The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation" Released 05/11/07 (UK) #11 U.K
- "The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch"
Released 25/04/11 (UK) #3 U.K
- "Glitterbug" Released 07/04/15 (UK) #5 U.K, #91 Billboard 200
- "Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life" Released 09/02/18 #3 U.K, #190 Billboard 200
Limited Release Singles
2007 "Lost In The Post"
2007 "Moving To New York"
2007 "Backfire At The Disco"
2007 "A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation"
Singles
2007* " Backfire at the Disco"
2007 "Kill the Director" #35 UK
2007 "Let's Dance to Joy Division" #15 UK
2008 "Moving to New York" #37 UK 14 January 2008
2009 "Is This Christmas"
2010 "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)
2011 "Jump Into the Fog"
2011 "Anti-D"
2013 "Your Body is A Weapon"
2) Heroes of the modern garage revival, the Wombats were born sometime in the late 70s, somewhere in the leafy lanes of Maple Heights, Ohio. Teenage guitar strangler John Zinrich, a.k.a. Johnny Fettish (so called because he had a thing for biting women's knees under tables, hence "John Knee Fetish"), had previously lived out the punk ideal by dropping out of high school at age 15 to join Public Enemy, noted in Cle 3.0 for doing "the fastest version ever attempted of 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'." Striving for a poppier sound, Fettish and his suburban neighbor Vic Halm penned a series of power-punk pop gems and entered the first national "Battle of the Garages" competition run by Bomp/Voxx honcho Greg Shaw. The 'Bats contributed a track, "The Reason Why" to the first "Battle" compilation and played on the national "Battle" tour in 1981. Positive public reaction won them a recording contract, and between 1981 and 1984 the 'Bats released two singles and an album, "Zontar Must Die!" on Bomp/Voxx. They also played various notable East Coast and local venues, including the first WRUW Studio Arama show and the opening night of the Lakefront (which displayed "Wombats" on its curb sign for several years as a result). Their energetic live show was notable for speedy fuzzy guitars pumped through Marshall stacks, unintelligible vocals, and the sight of 5'4" Fettish leaping two feet in the air, against a backdrop of six-foot-tall John Lennon-lookalike Halm and equally towering bassist Tim Ratley. In 1984 the Wombats played a show with the seminal Columbus band Great Plains, who brought them to the attention of Gerard Cosloy at Homestead Records. The Wombats subsequently recorded one EP for Homestead, "Mudpuddles", which came out in 1985. Unfortunately, the band had a falling out with Cosloy over their inability to tour, since drummer Tommy Edwards was busy studying to be a refrigerator repairman. As a result, promotion for "Mudpuddles" was almost nil and the 'Bats found themselves once again without a label. In 1986, Fettish and Halm wrote and recorded some excellent demos for a third album which they hoped to place on a major label, but due to lack of interest this project never saw the light of day. Since then, the 'Bats have played sporadically around Cleveland with various lineups.
Your Body Is a Weapon
The Wombats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where flashy people flash around
It's extortionate and I don't care
You can taste the pretence in the air
And I wonder what you wear tonight
The shiny black dress with the slit at the thigh
Is this such fantasy that I should think
Someone like you could love a creep like me
Your body is a weapon, love
And it makes me wanna cry
My body is a temple of doom
Doomed not to be by your side
I like my job when I do it well
It's freelance work and it pays like hell
But I can get us a place with one bedroom
Who needs a friend when I got you
Your body is a weapon, love
And it makes me wanna cry
My body is a temple of doom
Doomed not to be by your side
And I don't come here for the exclusivity
I just come here for the view
And the minuscule chance of some close proximity
Or an awkward conversation with you
Yeah that'd be cool
Your body is a weapon, love
And it rips me up inside
My body is a temple of doom
Doomed not to be
Doomed not to be by your side
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I, one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I, one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I love
Someone protect me from the one I, one I love
In "Your Body Is a Weapon," The Wombats paint a vivid picture of the contradictions of love and desire through the lens of a relationship that seems to be defined by the singer's obsession with his lover's body. The opening lines set the scene in a flashy uptown atmosphere, with the singer describing the environment as "extortionate" and full of "pretense." The focus on superficiality and image is contrasted with the mention of the lover's shiny black dress with a thigh-high slit, capturing the idea that the body can both draw someone in with its beauty and intimidate with its power.
The chorus of the song emphasizes this dynamic with its paradoxical imagery: the singer's body is a "temple of doom" because he knows he can never be with the person he desires, while the lover's body is a "weapon" that causes the singer emotional pain. The vulnerability and desperation in the lyrics are heightened by the repeated plea for protection from the "one I love."
Overall, the song captures the push and pull of longing and rejection in a relationship, as well as the complicated feelings that can arise when physical desire becomes intertwined with emotional attachment.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I like to go uptown
I enjoy going to the fancy part of town.
Where flashy people flash around
Where people show off their wealth and status.
It's extortionate and I don't care
It's expensive, but I don't mind paying for it.
You can taste the pretence in the air
You can sense that people are being insincere and fake.
And I wonder what you wear tonight
I'm curious about what outfit you'll have on tonight.
The shiny black dress with the slit at the thigh
I imagine you might wear a seductive black dress with a slit at the thigh.
Is this such fantasy that I should think
Am I foolish to believe that someone like you could love someone like me?
Someone like you could love a creep like me
Someone as amazing as you might never love someone like me.
Your body is a weapon, love
Your physical beauty and allure are powerful and dangerous to me.
And it makes me wanna cry
It's so overwhelming and emotional that it brings tears to my eyes.
My body is a temple of doom
I feel cursed because I can't be with you despite my physical desire for you.
Doomed not to be by your side
I'm destined to be alone and away from you.
I like my job when I do it well
I enjoy my job when I'm successful at it.
It's freelance work and it pays like hell
I'm a freelancer and I make a lot of money doing it.
But I can get us a place with one bedroom
I can afford to rent a small apartment for us to live in.
Who needs a friend when I got you
I don't need anybody else because I have you.
And I don't come here for the exclusivity
I'm not interested in the exclusivity of this place.
I just come here for the view
I come here just for the scenery.
And the minuscule chance of some close proximity
And maybe a small possibility of being near you.
Or an awkward conversation with you
Or even an uncomfortable and strange conversation with you would still be exciting to me.
Your body is a weapon, love
Your physical beauty and allure are powerful and dangerous to me.
And it rips me up inside
It tears me apart emotionally and mentally.
Someone protect me from the one I love
I need someone to help me avoid falling for you since I know I can never be with you.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MATTHEW EDWARD MURPHY, DANIEL JOSEPH HAGGIS, TORD OEVERLAND KNUDSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind