The Wombats are well and truly back better than ever.

With a long trek to North London, you start to question if it would be worth the struggle to take a visit to Alexandra Palace on a Tuesday night. Well the answer is yes. From the instant the huge stage and screen lit up, and the sensational synth-pop sounds scream with joy, you got a phenomenal feeling as The Wombats emerge from the foreground darkness to appear into the beaming lights.

The three-piece have been on the scene for over 10 years now, however it’s only recently that they have begun to hit the same heights as they did with their debut album A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2007). With most recent release being as rip-roaring as ever, The Wombats bring a rendition of all old and new to the energetic London crowd. Returning to a much more adventurous synth-infused sound, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2018) is a new exciting step forward for the Liverpudlians.

With support from Bloxx and The Night Cafe, The Wombats launch straight into Cheetah Tongue and Give Me a Try as they take the spotlight. The slew of glitter-smeared fans jumped, shouted and danced their way through anthem hooks and synth pulses. Against bright lights and changing colours throughout 1996 and Kill the Director the set was stopped a number of times due to the amount of people having to be lifted out the already manic moshpit. Half of the crowd collapsed due to the frenzy and craziness of front fans. With a young fan fainting and a little disruption caused as everyone struggled to keep on their feet, it was soon forgotten when the band smashed into the almighty Black Flamingo where the 10,000 capacity venue shouted back “I wanna love you but it hurts, hurts, hurts / I wanna stay here but the time slips away from me.”

Dipping back into their tracks from Glitterbug (2015) and This Modern Glitch (2011), you realise just how many fantastic and recognisable tracks The Wombats have recorded over the many years they have graced us with their talent. The evening turned into something of a dance down memory lane with the odd throwbacks such as favourite Techno Fan, fitted nicely with shiny new tracks like Lemon to a Knife Fight.

Arguably their most beloved indie anthem Let’s Dance to Joy Division brought back the many yelps of delight, with wombats dancing around on stage with the band. People were thrown on shoulders and hands bounced, swaying uncontrollably. After the much anticipated encore, a performance of Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) made the crowd roar one more time, with a waterfall of giant balloons falling from the ceiling and spray of endless confetti. Finally ending on Greek Tragedy, it was the perfect end to a frantically fantastic party.

Photos: Lauren McDermott