So Long, See You Tomorrow

With their latest feat So Long, See You Tomorrow, Bombay Bicycle Club marks their return to the UK charts. More impressively, they topped the UK Album Charts last weekend for the first time. Following on from A Different Kind of Fix, the north London quartet seem to be going from strength to strength, as lead singer Jack Steadman produced the album in their Edgware Road studio.

‘Carry Me’, the first single released off the album back in November, was for Bombay Bicycle Club fans like myself the perfect taster of the more electronic, dance-beat-influenced record to come. Shortly followed by the release of ‘Luna’ in December, their next single really saw the influence of Steadman’s travels in Istanbul and Mumbai while on the festival circuit. Using samples from a Turkish wedding band and a vocal duet with Rae Morris, the single was an ideal follow-up to showcase how the band’s sound has developed more independently with this album.

Steadman’s sampling of Bollywood records carries into the lively and flamboyant sound of ‘Feel’, which although may seem like unfamiliar territory compared to the indie-pop and rock rhythms that hooked fans on I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, works well with Steadman’s disconsolate yet gentle voice. There are more mellow tracks on the album though, that hark back to the band’s earlier folk sound that defined Flaws. The song ‘Eyes Off You’ reunites the harmonious pairing of Lucy Rose’s vocals from their previous album with the band’s newer, stronger, pounding beats. On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, ‘Whenever, Wherever’ combines the best of these elements, offering a completely unexpected change from Steadman’s ethereal voice to drummer Suren de Saram’s effervescent beats. With lyrics on the track such as “Words that appeased you, words that were always dressed up to please you”, it’s hard to doubt the confidence and sincerity with which the band produced the rest of the album.

Clearly a step in the right direction for the quartet

The final, titular track opens with a synthy, electro beat and climaxes with faint remnants of Saram’s striking rhythm that stood out so much on the rest of the album. However, this is not to forget guitarist Jamie MacColl’s contributions on ‘It’s Alright Now’ and ‘Home By Now’, two of my personal favourite tracks, which mesh seamlessly with the more experimental feel of the album while being a more mature sound, reminiscent of the explosive riffs from the first album. Clearly the tentative loops and extravagant cultural influences that came with the freedom of producing their album are paying off, proving it was a step in the right direction for the quartet.

In an interview, bassist Ed Nash teased that they would have gone with a more impressive moniker than their curry house-inspired name-sake had they known how popular they would become. For many fans this album has been a long time coming, with the past three being released in successive years. But at the age of just 24 (and having been recording since the tender age of 16), this triumph of bombastic electronic-infused indie-pop the four have developed has been well worth the wait.

Similar To: The Maccabees, Foals

MP3: Whenever, Wherever