Bombay Bicycle Club pedals to “Tomorrowâ€

By Jake Saunder

English rock band Bombay Bicycle Club’s fourth album “So Long, See You Tomorrow,” released Feb. 3, improves on the group’s whimsical charms.

While the group once delved into slow and contemporary folk-styled electronic melodies, this new album takes a slight turn toward a new and worldly direction. The first track, “Overdone,” opens this new approach interestingly, with a sampling of woodwind instrumentation that becomes over-characterized by the clear, electronic clamor reminiscent of their previous work. The most interesting addition are the vocal harmonies by Rae Morris, which flow nicely around those of lead vocalist, Jack Steadman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-VgseIg224

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The track persists in the formulaic rock patterns of previous use as they are overlaid by a resounding percussive and electric beat. Into “It’s Alright Now,” we find a repetition of lyric, a feel of a looped indulgence, though it keeps strong and standard.

Falling into “Carry Me,” listeners will find a reverberating lyrical melody and abstract guitar rhythm that lies gently beneath the synthesized harmonies. The chorus courses directly from this aforementioned beat into a clear cycling of voice. The instrumentation of it all drips entrancingly like lucidity into dream.

“Home by Now” glides gracefully with stringed sounds of piano, through perhaps with more of a synthesized harmony. Morris’ voice easily entangles itself into the steady stream of the melodically flowing track.

When listeners enter “Whenever, Wherever,” they may experience nostalgia from “Still,” a track on the group’s third album, “A Different Kind of Fix.” It finds the simplistic atmosphere with brave falsetto and, as soon as familiarity is felt, it calmly drowns into the ecstasy of the group’s synthetically musical flow.

The sixth track, “Luna,” rises in a steady yet quick build, and the chorus here reaches its mastery, again, with the robust vocal pitch from Morris.

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“Eyes Off You” quickly becomes enraptured in the bolded maturity with a whimsically powerful production. It swirls into soothing and entrancing dream-like undulation. Through the next two songs, “Feel” and “Come To,” there is a significant use of worldly instrumentation and rhythms never before used in such manner. The songs reach a point of virtual chaos in a unique and rhythmical styling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wIFYBAzNLE

Finally, listeners reach the track “So Long, See You Tomorrow,” which finishes out the album’s dramatic efforts. Replicating a similar air and cadence, it beckons the slow and swirling means from their previous works, while also indulging into this new venture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3QIh_eD_CI

The album is unlike anything Bombay Bicycle Club has produced thus far, and though it manages to retain the sturdy ambiance that they are known for, it does maturely incorporate their new adventurous spirit quite well.

“So Long, See You Tomorrow” can be purchased on Amazon or iTunes, or streamed on Spotify.

Jake Saunders can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @saundersfj or 536-3311 ext. 254.

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