Artist: Bombay Bicycle Club
Album: I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose
Record Label: Island Records
Rating: 3
In their debut album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose, UK-based band Bombay Bicycle Club combines alternative rock, experimental and blues elements with Strokes-esque rhythms and melodies to bring an enticing mix of sounds to the soi-disant indie rock genre.
The quartet’s terribly catchy choruses and beats nestled in the tracks “What If,” “Ghost” and “Always Like This” highlight the band’s ability to integrate their skills of rhythm composition with lyrical and melodic dynamics and intricacies. However, the rest of the record lacked the expressive nuances that made “Always Like This” as pleasant as it was (lead vocalist Jack Steadman’s voice sounds like the love baby of Björk, Joanna Newsom and Julian Casablancas). As a result, the record as a whole seemed to be missing lyrical articulation and variations that could possibly have made the band’s debut much more exciting.
Give these tracks a listen: “Always Like This,” “Emergency Contraception Blues”
For fans of: The Strokes, Metronomy
– Simone Wahng
