Bombay Bicycle Club are back. Thank fuck. A bridge between the aggressiveness of Britpop and copycat world we’ve seen from today’s ‘big’ acts, Bombay Bicycle Club, alongside The Maccabees, and our friends The National from over the pond, appeared post-Britpop, and developed an alternative rock sound that wasn’t too daunting. Not quite rock’n’roll, certainly not indie pop, but not as experimental as Thom Yorke’s Radiohead, it had the right balance of quirky, catchy and invention, remaining easy on the ear. It felt eerily familiar at times, with tales of hopelessness and failed romance easy to empathise with. An unconventional name, an anti-band-name for some, one that you have to write out in full each time (initialising it causes some huge PC problems), on the surface they may seem like a typical guitar band, but over time, their individuality becomes clear, their talent shining through.
That nasally, unusual vocal accompanied with precise yet energetic instrumentation, it shouldn’t have worked should it? It shouldn’t have seemed so different compared to everyone else, so unique, but it did, boy did it, and it was. The type of music you could snuggle up to in bed, it comforted you, but also allowed you to get sweaty and dance around like a madman with your pals. It wasn’t something you’d heard from other artists at the time, it just had that magical quality to it.
Remember those days as a young teen, finally discovering opinions and applying them to music. Your mum and dad could no longer force their own childhoods on you, you now had the chance to develop your own music taste, and Bombay Bicycle Club were there, waiting for your love. With haircuts you’d never seen before on musicians, and faces that looked far too honest to be on stage – good looks were never a requirement back then, and it’s a good job, because they didn’t really have them. But this was one thing that made them so attractive, so appealing. 4 straggly, baby faced 16 year olds who seemed to be able do it all, but without arrogance or ignorance, they looked like underdogs and this made you root for them even more. But when you heard the tunes, man, those tunes, they weren’t underdogs no more, they were a band everyone knew was destined for something special.
And then they fucked off. They left us. Then The Maccabees left us. The British alt-rock landscape was looking a little thin on the ground. Blaenavon tried to recreate these sounds but eventually ventured towards the pop-end of guitar’s music rather blurry spectrum. But Bombay are back now, the hiatus is over, the loveable weirdos are back, new music is on the horizon, new shows are ready to be announced, all that was needed, was a little bit of patience – rather ironic in this day of age of immediacy.
They’re the sort of band we’ve missed. Not possessing the arrogance of a Gallagher, or the over-compensating actions of a Matt Healy or Van McCann, Bombay Bicycle Club possess an effortless ability to adapt and innovate, whilst producing the infectious riffs and catchy melodies that are required to remain at the top level. They found the perfect balance of alternative and catchy, unusual yet familiar, each record produced something new and led you on an exploration as you sought to uncover every little detail. Meticulous in their approach to making music, each segment thought over profusely it seemed, yet a rawness remained, and the ability to rock out and make a load of fucking noise was never too much for them.
Who knows when the next chapter will finally arrive, but for now, it’s nice to know that something will actually arrive sometime soon. The boys are back in town.
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Photo: Sarah Jeynes.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bombay-bicycle-club-back-new-music-live-shows-release-date-a8728411.html
