03.
Bombay Bicycle Club
I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
From the opening drum clicks and layered guitars of instrumental opener ‘Emergency Contraception Blues’ to the understated acoustic plucking of the final notes of ‘The Giantess’ this is a near perfect album. As with Journal For Plague Lovers, this really should be an album of the year winner – it’s just a shame that this year produced two albums that were even more perfect. The quirky, distinctive vocal style holds together an album bursting at the seams with ideas, but one that, ultimately, is comfortable as an indie rock album, and never over-cooks the pudding. The Maxïmo Park-like jangling of ‘Dust On The Ground’ showcases a more traditional side to the band, while the Death From Above 1979 style distorted bassline and Bloc Party-esque scatter-drumming of the wonderful ‘Evening/Morning’ offers something totally different. Every track is catchy as hell. But they’re also all different enough from each other (and short enough) that there’s really no time to get comfortable. Whichever track is playing is usually my favourite, but the one that takes the honour when I’m not actually playing the record is the haunting ‘Ghost’ (get it…haunting…). Bombay Bicycle Club have had a good bit of hype, but have suffered from suggestions that they can’t produce live – I can’t comment, cause I’ve not had the chance to see them, but the album’s a winner. I reason that if they’re playing these songs they must be half decent live, however bad they are… This album shits on anything released over recent years by broadly comparable acts (Franz Ferdinand, Maxïmo Park and even Bloc Party – including my top album of 2008). Absolutely essential.
Bombay Bicycle Club
I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
From the opening drum clicks and layered guitars of instrumental opener ‘Emergency Contraception Blues’ to the understated acoustic plucking of the final notes of ‘The Giantess’ this is a near perfect album. As with Journal For Plague Lovers, this really should be an album of the year winner – it’s just a shame that this year produced two albums that were even more perfect. The quirky, distinctive vocal style holds together an album bursting at the seams with ideas, but one that, ultimately, is comfortable as an indie rock album, and never over-cooks the pudding. The Maxïmo Park-like jangling of ‘Dust On The Ground’ showcases a more traditional side to the band, while the Death From Above 1979 style distorted bassline and Bloc Party-esque scatter-drumming of the wonderful ‘Evening/Morning’ offers something totally different. Every track is catchy as hell. But they’re also all different enough from each other (and short enough) that there’s really no time to get comfortable. Whichever track is playing is usually my favourite, but the one that takes the honour when I’m not actually playing the record is the haunting ‘Ghost’ (get it…haunting…). Bombay Bicycle Club have had a good bit of hype, but have suffered from suggestions that they can’t produce live – I can’t comment, cause I’ve not had the chance to see them, but the album’s a winner. I reason that if they’re playing these songs they must be half decent live, however bad they are… This album shits on anything released over recent years by broadly comparable acts (Franz Ferdinand, Maxïmo Park and even Bloc Party – including my top album of 2008). Absolutely essential.