Somewhere along the way, London's once unassuming Bombay Bicycle Club decided to add a bit of distortion, stuff their cuts with oversized hooks and embrace the rabid down-stroke.
In the UK's post-Libertines world, "guitar band" may conjure thoughts of interchangeable NME cover stars (see the Maccabees et al.), but Bombay weren't weaned on the Kinks or the Jam (or, for that matter, the Libs). Instead, the amiable four-piece mine different ground, nodding to acts like Shed Seven, Ride and even mid-period Blur, while injecting the results with a bit of post-collegiate sheen. Et voila: they're a tailor-made mid-afternoon festival act.
As for the aforementioned hooks: punters were humming the refrain from "Always Like This" and the choruses from slow-builder, "How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep" and the archly infectious "Dust on the Ground" in washroom lines for the rest of the day.
In the UK's post-Libertines world, "guitar band" may conjure thoughts of interchangeable NME cover stars (see the Maccabees et al.), but Bombay weren't weaned on the Kinks or the Jam (or, for that matter, the Libs). Instead, the amiable four-piece mine different ground, nodding to acts like Shed Seven, Ride and even mid-period Blur, while injecting the results with a bit of post-collegiate sheen. Et voila: they're a tailor-made mid-afternoon festival act.
As for the aforementioned hooks: punters were humming the refrain from "Always Like This" and the choruses from slow-builder, "How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep" and the archly infectious "Dust on the Ground" in washroom lines for the rest of the day.