The Wombats have scored their first UK Number One album with ‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’.

The Liverpool trio released their fifth studio effort last Friday (January 14), with the subsequent mid-week chart placing it as the most physically purchased record of the week up to that point.

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Yesterday (January 21) it was announced that the band had secured the top spot (via the Official Charts Company), appearing above Ed Sheeran‘s ‘=’ (Number Two) and Adele‘s ’30’ (Number Three). The rest of the top five is made up of ‘Dawn FM’ by The Weeknd (Number Four) and ‘Fragments’ by Bonobo (Number Five).

Reflecting on their victory in a thread of tweets, Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy and co. wrote: “It’s been an amazing journey since we started back in 2003 and this is such a career milestone for us.

“Thanks to everyone who helped us make this album, to everyone involved in getting it out into the world, to everyone behind the scenes, our amazing live touring crew, it really does take a lot of wonderful hard working people to make and put an album out.”

They concluded: “Final thanks to all our family, friends and fans for your support over the years, we could never have done this without you all. Number fucking 1. We did it! Indie Landfill Forever. D, M & T x.”

Thanks to everyone who helped us make this album, to everyone involved in getting it out into the world, to everyone behind the scenes, our amazing live touring crew, it really does take a lot of wonderful hard working people to make and put an album out. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/ec0NPTWLD6

— The WOMBATS (@thewombats) January 21, 2022

Final thanks to all our family, friends and fans for your support over the years, we could never have done this without you all. Number fucking 1. We did it! Indie Landfill Forever. D, M & T x (3/3) pic.twitter.com/qTdEUICv6B

— The WOMBATS (@thewombats) January 21, 2022

The Wombats have previously had three consecutive top-five albums with 2011’s ‘This Modern Glitch’ (Number Three), 2015’s ‘Glitterbug’ (Number Five) and 2018’s ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’ (Number Three).

The group’s triumph comes amid a recent shift towards high-charting guitar-based acts. Last October, analysis from the UK record labels association the BPI suggested that 2021 was on course to become the best year for British bands in the UK charts in over a decade.

Newcomers The Lathums and The Snuts both bagged UK Number Ones with their respective 2021 debut albums, ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ and ‘W.L’. Indie label-signees such as Architects (‘For Those That Wish To Exist’), Mogwai (‘As The Love Continues’) and Wolf Alice (‘Blue Weekend’) also reached the top spot last year.

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Meanwhile, rising Leeds outfit Yard Act are vying for similar success with their first studio effort ‘The Overload’ (released yesterday, January 21).

Speaking in a recent interview with NME, frontman James Smith explained: “You’ve got to stare at your career head-on and be real about why you’re doing it. As long as you’re not starting to change the songs you make because of it then it’s alright.

“We’re making music that’s made a connection. It’s off the beaten track, but it fits in with the world of pop music. It’s on the radio and it’s got choruses, so why shouldn’t you try for [chart success]?”