Bombay Bicycle Club’s Return to Recording [REVIEW]

After a six-year hiatus, British indie group Bombay Bicycle Club has announced the upcoming release of their fifth studio album “Everything Else Has Gone Wrong.” On August 27, the band released the first single from the record titled “Eat, Sleep, Wake”, effectively ending their hiatus. This past month, on November 27, fans were gifted with the release of the titular track “Everything Else Has Gone Wrong.” The positive response to the first two singles is reassuring listeners that Bombay Bicycle Club hasn’t lost their creative edge and that the upcoming album will, along with the rest of their discography, be an indie masterpiece.

Through five albums, Bombay Bicycle Club has been somewhat of a musical mutant. Their debut release “I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose” in 2009 introduced the group as a classically brash British rock ensemble. The 2010 release of “Flaws,” a delicate acoustic folk album, brought along the realization that Bombay Bicycle Club was onto something that the rest of us had yet to learn. In 2011, “A Different Kind of Fix” showed just what that something was: a bizarre and beautiful combination of folk and alternative production that debuted at number six on the UK charts. That year, they were awarded “Best New Band” at the annual NME Awards. Riding a wave of success and creative expression, Bombay Bicycle Club released their last studio album in 2014. “So Long, See You Tomorrow” swiftly claiming the number one spot on the UK charts. The genre-bending record took the production of “A Different Kind Of Fix” and morphed it away from the acoustic and into the experimental. Then, like a cliché film hero, the band vanished. They announced their hiatus to pursue solo projects, leaving unfinished one of the most remarkably diverse discographies in indie rock. 

They emerged from the ashes on January 14 of 2019, almost a year to the day prior to the release date of their newest record, with an emotionally penned Instagram post about sharing their old songs together as a band and deciding to reconnect for another album. They endearingly ended the post saying, “Can’t wait to see you all. We’ve missed you.” Since, the fanbase has been delighted with weekly content updates from the band and even mini tours across the UK and the United States in anticipation for the release of the record. The end of the summer brought the first single, “Eat, Sleep, Wake” and mounting anticipation for what’s to come. 

“Eat, Sleep, Wake” masterfully encompasses pieces of every era of Bombay Bicycle Club. The distinctive bass riff brings memories of former noise heard on the “I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose” record, combined with fresh alternative production that results in a sound comfortingly familiar and excitingly new all at the same time. Jack Steadman’s brassy, almost monotonous voice resembles the texture of Bob Dylan, but softer. Steadman guides the listener through a collection of sound while weaving the story of a new-found love. Since the beginning, Steadman favors shorter lines of lyric interwoven between collages of sound. The main chorus sings only “Eat… Sleep… Wake… Nothing but you,” with the primary focus being the distorted guitar trills that construct the melody on top of the droning beat. 

Upon announcing the release of the record, the band explained that the songs were an homage to those who find solace in music during times of distress. Thus, the titular track “Everything Else Has Gone Wrong” is an exploration of strength in art amid personal and political stress. The single opens with an eclectic beat tonally higher than “Eat, Sleep, Wake” but of a similarly brash texture. The bridging line “keep the stereo on” ties the verse thematically into the chorus of “everything else has gone wrong, everything else has gone wrong,” affirming the intention behind the album as a whole.

“Eat, Sleep, Wake” made it to number 36 on my most listened to songs of 2019. I spent 50 hours of 2019 listening to Bombay Bicycle Club’s discography and plan to spend even more of 2020 experiencing the new release. The message of the album moved me in a time of societal discombobulation and confusion. The two singles have both stimulated and excited me for what’s to come from Bombay Bicycle Club. I am eager for more.