Alternative Indie rock tycoons to-the-trade Bombay Bicycle Club get us in the autumnal mood with sixth My Big Day.
Bombay Bicycle Club – a fourtet made up of members Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram and Ed Nash – have been an integral cog in the organ grinder of 2010s indie. Fuelled by 2009’s debut explosive, I Had The Blues But Shook Them Loose, the band have leapt to and fro from album to album dripping in guitar-fronted of hyperbole and decisive experimentation.
The Bombay boys have certainly been a catalyst throughout all fronts of indie progression from as early as ’09 – with many arguing they sit tightly within a soundtrack of a generation. 2023 sees the band digressing more into delectable breezy encounters playing host to a whole plethora of guest a-listers and characters in feature. My Big Day doesn’t swing too far away from their creature comforts but is still fresh enough to tread on new territory – and avoid treading on anyone else’s toes.
It’s a highly diverse album; with an array of broader sounds on offer. Less guitar-driven than i Had The Blues… in ’09. But instead, it’s an album moving with the times. An acceptance that it’s a far more widespread genre; a more acceptable palette; and less boxed in than it once was. And the four lads hailing from Crouch End are aware of this.
It’s an album that is not afraid to live in its skin; with its creators comfortable in their own too – a band in such an esteemed position that the feedback of an album is unparalleled to what they actually want to create. It’s an unapologetically fun album – with self-titled lead My Big Day showing just how lovingly crafted this album was. You can almost hear the smiles when the iconic voice of Jack first gets into the ears on bluesy-funk opener Just A Little More Time. Or even Suren’s drumming on ladle-heavy suave, I Want To Be Your Pet – which was once described as a love child between Beatles’ Abbey Road era and Rated R era Queens of the Stone Age – which, is not that far off.
The most lavish throughout the 11-track record is certainly Turn The World On – an opulent folk track fitting for any sunset, as the band become parents for the first time. It’s a sweet swansong on youthful hope as it harks back to the Flaws-era in 2010.
The album over-exceeds all expectations – especially when brings the likes of Damon Albarn and Chaka Khan on board amongst the roster. Both elegantly seasoned on a twinkly feel-good indie pepperings; a perfect soundtrack for the changing of seasons.
Holly Humberstone also brings her two cents to the table; encompassing a beautiful two-tone voice to Diving – a searing title and a deceivingly catchy number.
Onward is a folky acoustic portrait of the bands’ current stance – forever moving forward; never looking back – forever venturing ahead into the many pockets of indie swill and swagger.
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