It seems to have become a right of passage for British indie guitar bands to move past their sonic origins for a breakaway ‘third experimental record’.
While the London four-piece did usher in synths on their breakthrough third album A Different Kind Of Fixand their debut before that, their fourth opus sees them take a slightly more daring sidestep.
However, knowing the context behind frontman Jack Steadman’s time between records is important in understanding the complex beast that is So Long, See You Tomorrow. Steadman spent his break travelling, and the album sounds like a man who’s just arrived home with his head full of ideas and uncertainty.
Just as returning from overseas can be overwhelming, so too is the band’s fourth record. Stylistic qualities of various different genres are thrown at you as multiple layers are constructed with careless ease.
‘Overdone’ and ‘Feel’ carry Steadman’s Indian Bollywood memories within, while the synthetic loops of ‘Carry Me’ are reminiscent of the electricity within Tokyo’s busy streets. Elsewhere, ‘Come To’ brings 90s shoegaze into the mix, while the title track closes with an acid house tone that might bring Holland to mind.
The record is brought to a tired close, and while it would be tempting to commit another travel analogy faux pas, the weak ending has more to do with the album’s overdone state. Even on the comparatively simplistic piano-led ‘Eyes Off You’, the track finishes with a sonic melodrama that could easily find itself soundtracking another O.C. style TV moment.
Ironically though, therein lies what makes So Long, See You Tomorrow something worth revisiting. The sugary and homesick lyrics by Steadman with their sentimental music accomplices are always upbeat enough to win you over. Indeed, Bombay Bicycle Club have thrown enough sonic complexities in the mix to make you feel not so daft about how gooey So Long, See You Tomorrow can be.
Listen to ‘It’s Alright Now’ from So Long, See You Tomorrow here:
