The Wombats have shared details of their forthcoming album, ‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’, and a UK arena tour alongside the release of a new single.

The Liverpool-formed band’s fifth album arrives on January 7, 2022 via AWAL. It’s previewed by ‘If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You’, a thumping new song that hears the group ponder the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on interpersonal relationships.

A six-date arena tour for April 2022 will take place across in shows at Cardiff and Glasgow among other locations, such as an already announced gig at London’s The O2 on April 15 – their biggest headline show to date.

‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’ was recorded remotely during various coronavirus lockdowns (pre-order here). It’s produced by Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey), Paul Meaney (Twenty One Pilots, Nothing But Thieves), Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag‘n’Bone Man) and Mike Crossey (The 1975, The War on Drugs, Yungblud).

The three bandmembers were never in the same room during the album process, as Matthew “Murph” Murphy is based in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen is in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis is in London.

Each day, the band discussed a daily plan via Zoom, recorded their parts separately and then sent individual files to their producers. “It was pure madness, to be honest,” Murphy said in a statement.

He added of the band’s new single: “I noticed that 2020 and 2021 put some serious strain on interpersonal relationships, it felt like people around me were really struggling. For me, ‘If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You’ taps into all of that and asks the question…is it the circumstances putting undue stress on people? Or have the circumstances shed light on people’s incompatibility with one another?”

‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’ track list:

01. ‘Flip Me Upside Down’
02. ‘This Car Drives All By Itself’
03. ‘If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You’
04. ‘Ready For The High’
05. ‘Method To The Madness’
06. ‘People Don’t Change People, Time Does’
07. ‘Everything I Love Is Going To Die’
08. ‘Work Is Easy, Life Is Hard’
09. ‘Wildfire’
10. ‘Don’t Poke The Bear’
11. ‘Worry’
12. ‘Fix Yourself, Then The World (Reach Beyond Your Fingers)’

Tickets for The Wombats’ upcoming tour go on sale this Friday (August 20) at 9am BST. Head here.

The Wombats UK arena tour 2022:

APRIL
14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
15 – The O2, London
16 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
18 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
22 – Mountford Hall, Liverpool
26 – Open Air Theatre, Scarborough

The group also play this year’s Reading & Leeds Festival and the Neighbourhood Weekender.

Read NME‘s chat with The Wombats about their forthcoming show at The O2 here.