A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation
2007 studio album by The Wombats
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The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, usually shortened to A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, is the debut international studio album by English rock band the Wombats. It was released by 14th Floor Records on 5 November 2007.[2] Most of the songs first appeared on the band's 2006 Japan-only album Girls, Boys and Marsupials. A DVD to accompany the album includes footage of the band at the South by Southwest festival, along with music videos from their recent singles.
Electric Lady Studios, New York City, United States
Brick Lane, London, England
RAK Studios, London, England
| A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 November 2007 | |||
| Recorded | Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales Electric Lady Studios, New York City, United States Brick Lane, London, England RAK Studios, London, England | |||
| Genres | Indie rock, post-punk, new wave | |||
| Length | 44:24 | |||
| Label | 14th Floor | |||
| Producers | Stephen Harris, The Wombats, Jimmy Robertson | |||
| The Wombats chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Digital Spy | [3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| LAUNCHcast | (7/10)[5] |
| NME | (7/10)[6] |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.9/10)[7] |
| Spin |  [8] |
| stv.tv | [9] |
| This Is Fake DIY | [10] |
| Yahoo! Music UK | [11] |
The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios and reached No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart. It contains a pregap before the first track, which contains the band attempting to make wine glasses "ring" and extolling the virtues of the French wine Beaujolais, ending with them performing a mock advert for Beaujolais. The album had sold 335,361 copies in the UK as of April 2015.[12]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Matthew Murphy, except where noted; all music is composed by the Wombats, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tales of Girls, Boys & Marsupials" (lyrics by 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" (track ends at 4:36. hidden track; Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials piano instrumentation version) | 6:38 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Derail and Crash" | 3:29 |
| 15. | "Metro Song" | 3:51 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Dance to Joy Division" (video) | |
| 2. | "Kill the Director" (video) | |
| 3. | "Backfire at the Disco" (video) | |
| 4. | "Moving to New York" (video) | |
| 5. | "The Wombats in Austin" | |
| 6. | "Found Footage" |
Personnel
- Matthew Murphy – vocals, guitar, synthesizers, piano
- Dan Haggis – backing vocals, drums, synthesizers, piano, stylophone, harmonica, melodica
- Tord Øverland-Knudsen – backing vocals, bass, synthesizers, cello
- Llangattock Primary School – kids choir on "Let's Dance to Joy Division"
- Ian McNabb - banjo
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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