There was never a sweeter moment in the gray June workday than the moment someone walked over to the stereo and put in our magazine’s copy of Bombay Bicycle Club’s forthcoming third album, “A Different Kind of Fix.” And that was just the problem.
See, the NME office gives a whole new meaning to whistling while you work. It’s great; there’s an album blaring throughout the office for much of the workday. And at least once a day for a couple weeks, the first hint of the ethereal ahs and bright guitar riff of the opening track, “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep,” would shake me out of my preoccupied intern haze. I had no clue who Bombay Bicycle Club was before these afternoons in the NME office. All I knew was that they had a strange name and that I liked the catchy melodies and weird riffs more and more each day. Now that you’re curious, their name is derived from a chain of Indian restaurants in London. Yes, even the band has admitted it’s a bit ridiculous.
Anyway, for a few days I was too hesitant to interrupt my so-busy-I-take-lunch-at-my-desk colleagues to ask what band was blaring through the stereo. It’s only fair to clarify that their kindness always invalidated my reticence — contrary to whatever I made up in my head before these situations, no one dropkicked me for daring to ask a question. I finally asked one of the editors next to me, and he replied happily that it was BBC (not to be confused with the slightly better known British Broadcasting Corporation), leading to a moment of shared appreciation while we listened to this surprisingly solid album, again and again … and once more for good measure.
“I actually considered going around the empty office last night and hiding all available copies of this album,” wrote NME Reviews Editor Emily Mackay when she posted the first review June 22. “Not because I don’t like it, but because it’s been on so much I’m terrified the office Obsessive Compact Disc sufferers will ruin it for me before it even comes out.” Amen. But we all knew there were plenty of reasons it wielded so much staying power in the office stereo.
However, these reasons are subtle — it was days before I realized that BBC’s melodies had burrowed their way into my subconscious, surfacing at really opportune moments, like the quietest part of class or at dinner. Yet, none of what was popping up in my head stood out while listening to the album at work until I actively listened for it. This album, led by Jack Steadman’s easy vocals, has a sleek, pleasant, neutralizing sound full of sound loops being used as both melody and percussion, like on the single, “Shuffle.”
“The same impulse that triggers my desire for an Oreo McFlurry makes me want to listen to ‘A Different Kind of Fix,’” wrote the folks at Pitchfork about the hypnotic quality that “Fix” shouldn’t have, if you really think about it, but it does.
But even before “Fix,” the band had already charmed the U.K., swooping in to beat out others like Mumford & Sons and The xx for Best New Band at the 2010 NME Awards, for example. With this album, I think Bombay has a good chance of breaking in America (not counting their contribution to one of the “Twilight” soundtracks, because that should never be your big break in America). Preceded by acts like Mumford & Sons, Florence + the Machine, Laura Marling, Adele and a variety of other brilliant Brits, BBC easily has the talent to ride the wave of this new British Invasion.
There’s only one problem — three albums and 10 singles into their career as a band, and they’re a bit of the Killers here, a hint of the Libertines there, maybe a tinge of Mumford wedged in the acoustics in between. Who are these guys? Are they commendably diverse or just a bit restless?
“I think we’re getting there, maybe with a couple more albums,” bassist Ed Nash told NME on Nov. 11. “We’re still a way away from having our own sound. We’re just probably borrowing from other people’s sounds, like a hybrid.”
At least they’re aware that they’re borrowing (ahem, Coldplay). But there are flashes of originality on “Fix,” and I think they’ve got what it takes to carve their own niche. The spotlight may have fallen on Bombay Bicycle Club before they were completely ready for it, but they’re a band to keep your eye on. Sort of like how we keep our eye on that Oreo McFlurry as we pass the McDonald’s, except you won’t feel as bad about yourself after letting “A Different Kind of Fix” play in your stereo once, twice or 17 times.
