Oh! The Ocean

The Wombats—Matthew “Murph” Murphy, Tord Øverland Knudsen and drummer Dan Haggis—are widely associated with the British indie-rock revival from the early 2000s. As they’ve matured in the ensuing years, though, their sound has evolved beyond the scope of that world. On their sixth studio album, 2025’s <i>Oh! The Ocean</i>, they update the band’s geographic influence, too. After Murphy moved to LA, the band recorded in the city’s Echo Park neighbourhood. Though the album title suggests a cheery, awestruck disposition, Murphy’s writing is as biting as ever. He takes aim at “see and be seen culture” on opener “Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come” and wades into the murky anxiety of modern politics on “I Love America and She Hates Me”. The cultural, though, is balanced by plenty of introspective moments, like on “My Head Is Not My Friend”, in which Murphy dives into the ecstatic highs, crippling lows and run-of-the-mill mundanities that animate the band’s best work.