Bombay Bicycle Club

I wasn't planning on writing another blog post today, but I ran across an album on my iTunes account that I hadn't listened to in quite some time. Back in the day when I was really into The Strokes, I was messing around on iTunes instead of paying attention in my philosophy class. While I was buying a few more songs from the new Stroke's album, I saw a section on the screen that said "Those who purchased this song also enjoyed..." and it listed several bands that I'd never heard of. Being in a rather inquisitive state of mind for some reason or another, I downloaded a few songs by Bombay Bicycle Club. As I said I was in class, so I bought the songs without so much as a sample. Truth be told, I just thought their name was interesting. It was just another serendipitous turn of events in my musical life that ended up making a profound impact on my musical tastes.

To me, Bombay Bicycle Club sounds like the Strokes would sound if the Strokes just had everything figured out. BBC has the same general instrumental sound, but it's more laid back; kind of like the Strokes and Sublime were blended together with a dash of the Kings of Convenience. It's one of those sounds that's so familiar, but you can't help from looking for that little nuance that you can't put your finger on but can't ignore either.

I think one of the great things about Bombay Bicycle Club is their lyrical style. They don't exactly lean on finesse when they write a song. The lyrics in the songs I've heard have been straight forward, but well written. You don't find them stretching for a rhyme or jamming five syllable words into a three syllable space. It make sounds a bit unreasonable or nerdy to appreciate proper and effective use of grammar in alternative rock music, but it's definitely one of the aspects of this group that I find so incredibly refreshing. They've got a masterful way of blending lyrics and instrumentals in such a way that it seems like the track never stops trying to speak to you. It's hard to recollect many other groups that create this dynamic as effectively. The Silversun Pickups and Iron and Wine are two examples, but outside of them it's tough to say.

I haven't listened to more than a handful of songs from the EP "The Boy I Used To Be," but I've still picked out a couple of songs that I think are indicative of their style. I hope you enjoy these.