Over three records, London’s Bombay Bicycle Club have jumped from quirky indie to twee folk and over to keyboard-speckled pop-rock, giving us a stack of best-of worthy singles in the process (Always Like This, Ivy & Gold, How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep, to name but a few). The group’s fourth LP is another attempt to update their sonic focus. So Long, See You Tomorrow could be construed as a party drug reference and accordingly the record rather patently strives to deliver a slew of feel good summer winners. It’s breezy on the ears and likely to incite sweaty dance floor scenes, but unfortunately the songs largely sound bloated and flat.
There’s plenty of sophisticated groove – for example the punchy bass line leading latest single Luna will get festival crowds dizzy – but not much clever melody. Some things are memorable for the wrong reasons, such as the chorus of the otherwise-standout Carry Me, which meagrely encourages a mass of voices to get involved by incessantly repeating the title phrase.
The record’s arena ambitions are verified by the production. Scarce attention is paid to subtle details as washy guitars, skyrocketing vocals and accompanying string parts widen many choruses. The problem is, it sounds far too Temper Trap and not at all U2. Frontman Jack Steadman is a very good singer but when contriving for such lofty melodic heights he winds up well out of his depth.
Interestingly, the band also show an experimental inclination. The dirty Foals-like guitar detours in opener Overdone, paddy synth backbone of Carry Me and eastern colour parade melodies in Feel are actually the record’s greatest successes.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Best Track: Luna.
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In A Word: Flowery.
