A Different Kind Of Fix

Each album is a surprise

Releasing three albums in three years is in itself a great accomplishment; but when these records are not similar and at the same time feature high quality, we are talking about a really rare phenomenon. Such is the English band Bombay Bicycle Club that has managed to pull this very trick. Two years ago, they were preparing their debut record, I Had the Blues, but I Shook Them Loose, a bold, audacious and vibrant indie-rock effort. No matter how favorably critics appraised this one, the musicians chose to play somewhat really different on their following CD. Flaws (2010) is a heartfelt folk rock with magic acoustic guitar and cozy homelike feel. When the year 2011 came, the band announced the upcoming release of album number three, and none of listeners knew exactly what it was going to be like. Well, those were right who predicted the further experiments to take place. A Different Kind Of Fix is another, and a very successful, attempt taken by the English to play something new again. While the very fact of experimentation might not seem very promising to some of the fans, they sure will be impressed by the significant professional growth displayed by the young performers.

A new sound with a look cast at the past

The audience saw it fair enough to expect from Bombay Bicycle Club a more mature and professional record this time. After all, the successes of the first release, rigorous fan support, and still boiling enthusiasm pushed the band to advance for more achievements. The biggest one on A Different Kind Of Fix is the group’s application of synthesizers as they introduced lots of piano into their standard guitar and drum set. Together with the more confident vocals, this instrument provided Bombay Bicycle Club’s renewed music with a more atmospheric touch. You can feel it right from the start, on the opening How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep. The clearest presentation of the London-based formation’s sound is the single Shuffle endowed with fascinating pop-like melodies and deep music material concealing several interesting instrumental solutions. This one paves the same stylistic way for Bad Timing, and What You Want. Still, you can’t say the band has fully switched to a new sound without looking back at the past. Beggars, and Fracture bring Bombay Bicycle listeners to the Flaws world with more transparent and simpler music. Even more fragile and emotional is the final track, Still, a discreet experiment with psychedelic rock.

Time to set the genre

The prodigies from London, Bombay Bicycle Club, needed only three CDs to develop their unique sound. The latest effort, A Different Kind Of Fix, illustrate their signature style based on emotional vocals strictly determined by the instrumental accompaniment. The ambitious musicians do their best to extend the horizons of their creative space, and they do succeed. Within the confines of just one album, the listener is offered acoustic songs with intimate serious talks about life, and lively energetic tracks for fun and parties. This is where Bombay Bicycle Club most powerful weapon lies. The band may make a song where they feature one man as a star drawing the listener’s attention to his vocals or instruments, and they may also perform as a whole ensemble with amazing chemistry between the members. Abilities like that allow them to have no fear or hesitation in the face of new music researches for the audience to enjoy. On the other hand, people like performers for how they work with a certain genre. It leaves only one request to the good lads from Bombay Bicycle Club, and that is to find and stay with one certain genre by the time they make album four.