Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws

Bandwagon jumping can be good

With quite a big side step, Bombay Bicycle Club have released a decidedly folky sounding and most certainly unplugged album. It could be said that folk sounds are very in vogue right now, you only need to take a listen to the likes of Laura Marling’s current album and there’s of course Mumford And Sons giving the commercial market a good dose of folk too, and many others. So are Bombay Bicycle Club just jumping onto the bandwagon? I’m none too sure to be honest, but what I do know is that whatever the reasons behind this album I’m very glad they did this. It is a wonderful collection of heartfelt mellow songs that fit together like pieces of a puzzle, slowly painting a grand and beautiful picture.

The only problem I sometimes find with albums such as these is that because there is so little in way of change of direction and sound that it can all begin to sound a little samey. Bombay Bicycle Club however, have managed to pull it off without it getting boring. Quite an accomplishment I think. There is a great change of pace and melody that flows between the songs on the album, it’s only the fact I had Jewel twice that confused me slightly “ooh this is a long song!” opps! Dust On The Ground is one of my favorite “slow” tracks from the album. Lots of acoustic percussion, pretty pretty guitars and vocals that make me melt inside. Banjo 1 is a really tranquil track just under three minutes long, with what sounds like the creaking of a wicker chair at the end, it’s so charming and in general I don’t often appreciate these kinds of tracks, as it doesn’t hold much in terms of lyrics.

Opening track Rinse Me Down is one of the more punchier of tracks on the album, it just has a bit more pace and musically has a little more depth and texture than some of the other tracks. Ivy & Gold would make for an excellent single. Again it is one of the faster paced tracks, with a galloping of percussion and a simple yet effective guitar melody. It also has faster vocals than the rest of the album, the song itself has some nice little changes in pace and melody. I might even go as far to say that it is a contender as one of my favorite tracks on the album, but I’m just not that keen on the way the track ends, it feels as though it doesn’t give the rest of the song the respect it deserves, give it a listen, you might agree. Now I might be spoiling something here but it cannot go unmentioned. There is a secret track and it’s a gem, a rework of one of the tracks from their last album, and that is all I’m going to tell you! So hidden gems aside this album wouldn’t usually be my cup of tea but for me it is the ebb and flow, the puzzle revealing and the vocal more than the music that really grabs me and makes me think “yes, yes I do actually like this even though I didn’t think I would”.