Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix

There was only one indie nightclub in my hometown and it recently closed down - but if I were to describe it the first thing that springs to mind is Bombay Bicycle Club and their hit Always Like This. Probably their most well-known single, it became almost anthemic and was played every single time I went there. I rather like it. That said, to narrow the band down to a song is not why I waste time writing these little things, so let's embrace album #3 (! already!)

The Crouch End foursome seem to be on one of the most drastic of upturns in recent years - their debut I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose, whilst containing their breakthrough hits, charted at a lowly #46. Today, they've sat 40 places higher. And when you consider that this record sits nicely inbetween the folksy loveliness of Mumford and Sons and the quiet indie serenities of The xx or Metronomy, it's not hard to see why.


Quite how they blend those sounds though takes a little more work than looking at who's popular in both scenes (curse my lazy journalism) - on opener 'How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep' the band partner a slow dubstep beat with some harmonising vocals and a simple acoustic guitar hook. The end result is a catchy, infectious tune that the band are in abundant supply of; they slip into 'Bad Timing' with a stranger, noisier presence to hammer in the more demanding lyrics: "Why do you keep me back?/ With all your powers I am pushing at". "Humour me just think it through, it's all I ever asked of you", Steadman continues on 'Your Eyes' with a sound much more similar to their debut - quick rhythms, staccato vocals - and it's another solid, albeit unremarkable track.

The poppier edges are catered to with the likes of 'Lights Out, Words Gone' (with its jangly riffs and chilled-out synths) and 'Take the Right One' (think Doves covered by Belle and Sebastian) - but most noticeably on single 'Shuffle' with its jerky, upbeat hook. I've only heard it 5 times now but I've already got a feeling it'll continue to be a favourite of this year for me. But before you go off thinking this is strictly indie-pop, 'Beggars' rudely interrupts you with a summery knees-up complete with tambourine and harmonies. Think Fleet Foxes without the extremely poetic lyricism. They then revert to the indie-pop, evoking a bit of Carpenters cool on 'Leave It'.

Whilst the genres and energies are bouncing around with careless abandon, lyrically they too suffer from bouts of schizophrenia: "It's not complex, see all of the signs flashing on/ You're just paying, for all of the bad you have done" they viciously sign-off the otherwise picturesque 'Fracture', but on 'What You Want' they practically beg: "You can rearrange me now. If we wait we can make it somehow/ Well what you want, what you want; anything you want". After the light indecision (sadly the most interesting thing to comment on for both average tracks) another delectable hook surfaces on 'Favourite Day' in amongst some chirpy and bouncy rhythms. Lovely stuff. The tides change again though in time for 'Still', in which a piano is left to its own melancholy devices, and the vocals lament and sob emotively. It's quite an intense experience, really.


Although the album chronologically throws you off course a little too often to ever really sit comfortably throughout, this is arguably the product of the Shuffle Age and therefore performs more than admirably as a colleciton of diverse, exciting and unusual tunes. It's worth pointing out though that, after the mess of a living-up-to-its-title Flaws, the band have managed to strike oil again and put out another solid, nice album.

Rating: 7.5/10
Highlights: Shuffle, Beggars, Still, Leave It, Your Eyes
Avoid: What You Want

Artwork Watch: To be honest I haven't got a fucking clue what's going on here. So I like it.