Hello and welcome to episode 177 of the ACPG Podcast.

This week Ben is in Newcastle and zooming with Matthew Murphy of The Wombats and Love Fame Tragedy who is in LA.

Ben and Murph talk about his second album from his side project Love, Fame, Tragedy. We talk about writing for this project and The Wombats, talk about the heritage of great scouse bands (there’s a few), playing live, living in LA, and much more.

Even for a writer beloved by his fans for being so frank and open about his romantic failings, tempestuous marriage and issues with drugs and depression, Life Is A Killer is Murph’s truest and most lyrically raw album to date, documenting one of the most difficult years of his life. As the now sober songwriter navigates his way through balancing life as a new father of two and touring the world with The Wombats, he explores the mental struggles of managing family life amid self-destructive excess. Written in between London and LA, Murph enlisted the help of producers Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers) and Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag N Bone Man, The Wombats) to push his sonic boundaries further than ever, with new sounds and even voice notes from his wife Akemi.

As singer, guitarist and primary songwriter of The Wombats, Murph has sold over a million albums, garnered nearly 2 billion streams, and, in 2022 secured his first ever UK #1 album with the acclaimed Fix Yourself, Not The World.

Thank you to Murph, Charlie and Murph’s dog for coming on and support with this episode.

See you very soon for season six.