Given Bombay Bicycle Club’s admittedly short musical history, the decision to makeover their sound for their third release, A Different Kind of Fix, might not be too surprising. This being their third release in as many years, BBC has pushed at the edges of their musical style with each subsequent LP. Their debut I Had the Blues But I Shook them Loose (interestingly enough, this album name comes from a line in “After Hours” by A Tribe Called Quest) was packed to the gills with a crunchy and almost post-rock sonic texture; 2010’s Flaws was the bands lukewarm attempt at an acoustic album; Fix finds the BBC plugged back in, and in their best form yet.
Right off the bat, the album’s starter “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?” indicates a renewal in the band’s style; lead singer Jack Steadman repeats “can I wake you up / is it late enough,” in a near monotone that the rest of the track bounces and flexes around. The song was successful enough to be picked up for the one of the Twilight movies’ soundtracks; BBC’s indie street-credibility was left unharmed, perhaps only because their song was relegated a small role in the movie (I swear I don’t know this from experience). But, the song shows off a new strength for the band: Fix is filled with irresistibly head-nod-inducing rhythms. Drummer Suren de Saram creates enveloping structures in Fix that regiment Ed Nash’s bubblegum basslines, and let Jame MacColl’s fragmented guitar loops ramble through the songs.
The lead single “Shuffle” is a rolling jam that doesn’t seek to transcend BBC’s Yacht-pop influences, but is still accessible and fun; in this way, “Shuffle” is a great synechdoche for A Different Kind of Fix — BBC makes infectious music that floats in one ear and out the other, their cute accessibility is unfortunately at the cost of this album’s memorability and vitality.
Love the BBC!