Earlier this year, the Wombats released “Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life,” the band’s fourth full-length studio album. The title deserves credit for its cheeky brilliance.
The Liverpool band plays hooky post-punk revival, with a splash of Britpop attitude and tunefulness. The band has a knack for the absurd detail. There’s a song on the record about bringing a lemon to a knife fight. And its first release (available only in Japan) was called “Girls, Boys and Marsupials.”
They have something in common with the giddy pop eclecticism of Super Furry Animals. Youthful excess is a recurring theme: “If you remember this tomorrow, then you did it wrong,” goes the refrain on “Lethal Combination.” Elsewhere, on “Ice Cream,” they ask, “Is there really such a thing as too much fun?”
They’ve toured opening for the Pixies and Weezer, so fans of ‘90s alternative rock might consider the Wombats as stewards of the tradition, putting a 21st century spin and a British sense of humor on things.
See the Wombats at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven, on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $22 to $25. collegestreetmusichall.com