Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow (Album Review)
Friday, 07 February 2014
Written by Gavin Rees
By embracing their desire to dabble, Bombay Bicycle Club have produced something remarkable on ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’, sketching abstract pop on a canvas splattered with colour.
Drawing on frontman Jack Steadman’s recent travels - to India, Turkey and the Netherlands if you’ve got a Rough Guide handy - the record is a psychedelic mish mash of influences, one that again shoves the band in a new direction. History tells us that this update to their sound will be abandoned by the time album five arrives, but it is a pleasing diversion for the here and now.
There’s an ethereal quality to much of ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’, from the rousing harmonies of Luna, to the layered vocals of It’s Alright Now and the title track’s slow-burning, insistent rise, and it’s here that Bombay Bicycle Club mine their richest material, utilising samples to create an immersive effect.
Take the Bollywood intro to Overdone, the album’s opener, or the incongruous but charming Still D.R.E overtones of Home By Now, and it’s apparent that this particular facet of Steadman’s writing process has been enriched in the years since the dance influenced ‘A Different Kind Of Fix’.
When they stray into more maudlin territory, as they do for sections of the aforementioned title track and Eyes Off You, there’s less to like, but in a broad sense - not something that its meandering influences lend themselves to, admittedly - ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ is textured but consistent.
What it isn’t is all that arresting. It’s the more engaging, whimsical sibling of Warpaint’s recent self-titled effort; atmospheric and beautiful, yet aloof when it wants to be. Still, it’s hard not to take notice of the skill that’s been wielded in its creation. ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ could be the start of a major sea change in Bombay Bicycle Club’s career and, with summer festival appearances stacking up, it’s certainly going to soundtrack a few hazy evenings.
Sun March 02 2014 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Mon March 03 2014 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Tue March 04 2014 - ABERDEEN Aberdeen Music Hall
Wed March 05 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Fri March 07 2014 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Sat March 08 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Sun March 09 2014 - NORWICH UEA
Mon March 10 2014 - PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth Guildhall
Wed March 12 2014 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Thu March 13 2014 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Sat March 15 2014 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Sun March 16 2014 - CARDIFF University
Mon March 17 2014 - EXETER University
Tue March 18 2014 - BRIGHTON Dome
Thu March 20 2014 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Fri March 21 2014 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
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