THE WOMBATS MAKE SURE “CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY” IN SCOTLAND’S CAPITAL

GIG REVIEW | THE WOMBATS w/ Florentenes, Overpass | EDINBURGH CORN EXCHANGE | 2nd December 2025 by Morgan Hermiston

There are very few bands in the UK that have made as big a mark on music as The Wombats. The trio, from Liverpool, have toured extensively over their 22 year existence so far, but no crowd seems to greet them with as much energy as a Scottish one. Kicking off their UK tour in the Scottish capital, this was a show that sets the bar for the rest of them.

While we never managed to catch opening act Florentenes, they still deserve a mention. The Manchester indie-rock quartet have only been around since 2023, but have quickly began a courageous career in music with several festival slots, including this year’s Sound City. Florentenes have also developed an ever-growing discography and a mountain of dedicated fans already. Latest track ‘Think Twice‘, which was released in November, adds to this momentum and highlights the group’s distinctive sound that is reminiscent of early 2000s indie, with a modern feel merged in. They’re a band to get to know, you’ll probably see their name pop up across the UK in 2026.

Overpass brought objective optimism to the Edinburgh stage. It was nice to see the room packed out for the support bands, especially as Overpass have been growing in popularity the last couple of years. This year has presented performances for the four-piece in a variety of settings. From supporting The Amazons on their most recent tour to, like Florentenes, playing Sound City and Neighbourhood Weekender. Overpass have accrued millions of listeners on streaming platforms alone via vibrant and addictive indie-rock anthems like ‘Right Time‘, ‘3AM‘ and ‘Beautiful‘, which all featured in their striking set. It’s a shame the crowd weren’t more enthusiastic, but as the night progressed, this energy did begin to emerge.

The lights dimmed for the last time and The Wombats came on stage to the sound of applaud and cheers. Their minimalistic stage setup was quite refreshing, allowing easily distracted people like me to focus on the band themselves, and the energy in the room. The trio – Matthew Murphy, Tord Øverland, and Dan Haggis – were quick to ignite the spark that the Scottish crowd were waiting on. Kicking off the set with, ‘Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come‘, taken from most recent record “Oh! The Ocean“, the band quickly revealed their pattern of balancing between new and old.

The Wombats are a group that know what works, but aren’t afraid to branch out. Whether fans found the Liverpool lot early on in their journey, or more recently, there was something for everyone. Older fan-favourites like ‘Moving To New York‘ and ‘Techno Fan‘ were met with admiration. In ‘Moving To New York‘, the line, “Christmas came early for me” rang true. Bassist Øverland made the stage his own as he jumped around, so it was probably wise of them to remove all possible breakages. Haggis commanded presence on his drum platform, joking and reminding frontman Murphy of their upcoming extended record, set for release on Friday 5th December. Newer track ‘Holy Sugar‘ followed this announcement.

Even sat up on the balcony, the energy became increasingly immersive. ‘Kill the Director‘ needed no introduction, the Edinburgh crown immediately singing the opening words without assistance. “This is no Bridget Jones” echoed from the front of the room to the back, everyone chanting and clapping along. This was quickly followed with an acoustic portion. Murphy took centre stage armed with just a guitar and his voice, dedicating ‘Lethal Combination‘ to the crowd. Before beginning, he mentioned playing the city’s Cabaret Voltaire – which recently celebrated 50 years – before the group had a record deal. Even if you’d never heard either of those two tracks, you would’ve found yourself learning the words quite quickly.

Joking about their songs’ sentiments, Murphy at one point said, “we sing about lemons more than we probably should…here’s your first dose“. ‘Pink Lemonade‘ followed this statement, with the “second dose” coming later on with ‘Lemon to a Knife Fight‘. The latter tune began as a jazzy rendition, which was actually very intriguing, before the well-known riffs enticed the crowd once again. As the songs came to a close, The Wombats were incredibly thankful to everyone for showing up.

It would be easy to presume that a band of their calibre would lose humility as they become ever-more popular, but there’s few bands as humble and as acknowledging as The Wombats. They’ve built their momentum from the ground up, from the smaller venues like the aforementioned Cab Vol, to huge stadium shows like Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, there’s not much that the band haven’t done. The Wombats’ shows are ones I recommend to everyone, whether you’ve seen them countless times before, or have barely heard of them.

You can check out the post below for details on remaining tickets for shows in the likes of Newcastle (5th December), Dublin (9th December) and Blackpool (11th December).