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Feb 28, 2014 Bombay Bicycle Club By Kate Bennett

Bombay Bicycle Club have called their new album So Long, See You Tomorrow, but it could just as easily have been named Bombay Bicycle Club: Fun With Synthesizers. Never a band to shy away from experimentation, for their fourth full-length release the North London band have injected their glittering guitar pop with textural synths and dance sounds.

Lead single “Carry Me” is the most outré example of the Club’s new approach, with its processed guitar stabs and synth bounces set against the band’s familiar sparkling vibrato and airy harmonies, but its highly produced sheen extends over the entire album. From the Graceland-esque exuberance of “Luna” to opening track “Overdone,” which evolves from gentle orchestral fade-in to sizzling blues-rock licks, So Long… sees the band staying true to their instantly recognizable world-inflected indie pop, but building it on very different foundations.

With So Long..., Bombay Bicycle Club have taken a similar trajectory to that taken by Vampire Weekend with Modern Vampires of the City, pushing the boundaries of their eclecticism without abandoning the Bombay spirit that everybody fell in love with. An unexpected album, but at the same time one that never feels anything less than a completely natural progression. (www.bombaybicycleclubmusic.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10