A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation

A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation
Studio album by The Wombats
Released United Kingdom November 5, 2007
United States June 24, 2008
Recorded Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales
Electric Lady Studios, New York City, United States
Brick Lane, London, England
RAK Studios, London, England
Genre Indie rock, post-punk, new wave
Length 44:24
Label 14th Floor Records
Producer Stephen Harris, The Wombats, Jimmy Robertson
The Wombats chronology

Girls, Boys and Marsupials
(2006)		 A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation
(2007)		 This Modern Glitch
(2011)
Singles from A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation
  1. "Backfire at the Disco"
    Released: April 9, 2007
  2. "Kill the Director"
    Released: June 25, 2007
  3. "Let's Dance to Joy Division"
    Released: November 8, 2007
  4. "Moving to New York (re-release)"
    Released: January 14, 2008
  5. "Backfire at the Disco (re-release)"
    Released: April 21, 2008
  6. "Kill the Director (re-release)"
    Released: July 7, 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Digital Spy [2]
The Guardian [3]
LAUNCHcast (7/10)[4]
NME (7/10)[5]
Pitchfork Media (5.9/10)[6]
Spin [7]
stv.tv [8]
This Is Fake DIY [9]
Yahoo! Music UK [10]

A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation is the first album to be released in Britain by British indie band The Wombats. It was released on November 5, 2007 on 14th Floor Records.[11] There is also a DVD to accompany the album which includes footage of them at the South by Southwest festival along with music videos from the band's recent singles. The album was recorded at the Rockfield Studios. The album managed to reach #11 in the UK Albums Chart. On the single for "Let's Dance to Joy Division" there is a B-side of "Derail and Crash" and a hidden track of the Fireman Sam theme song played by the band.

The album contains a pregap before track 1, which contains the band attempting to make wine glasses "ring" and extolling the virtues of beaujolais. It ends with them doing a faux advert for beaujolais: "Every day's a beau day when you drink... Beau-Jolais. *clink, slurp* Ahhh... Beau-jolais!"

Track listing

All lyrics written by Matthew Murphy, except where noted, all music composed by The Wombats, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Tales of Girls, Boys & Marsupials" (The Wombats) 1:10
2. "Kill the Director"   2:42
3. "Moving to New York"   3:31
4. "Lost in the Post"   3:06
5. "Party in a Forest (Where's Laura?)"   3:27
6. "School Uniforms"   3:14
7. "Here Comes the Anxiety"   2:31
8. "Let's Dance to Joy Division"   3:11
9. "Backfire at the Disco"   3:13
10. "Little Miss Pipedream"   4:12
11. "Dr. Suzanne Mattox PhD" (includes elements from the chorus of "Help Me, Rhonda", by the Beach Boys) 3:33
12. "Patricia the Stripper"   4:01
13. "My First Wedding" (hidden track; Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials piano instrumentation version) 6:38

Personnel


Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 35
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[13] 57
UK Albums Chart (OCC)[14] 11
US Heatseeker Albums[15] 20

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 74

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Digital Spy review
  3. ↑ The Guardian review
  4. ↑ LAUNCHcast review
  5. ↑ NME review
  6. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  7. ↑ Spin review
  8. ↑ stv.tv review
  9. ↑ This Is Fake DIY review
  10. ↑ Yahoo! Music UK review
  11. ↑ The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation at AllMusic
  12. ↑ http://acharts.us/album/34186
  13. ↑ http://acharts.us/album/34186
  14. ↑ http://acharts.us/album/34186
  15. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/419442/wombats/chart?f=324
  16. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20080106/37502

External links