This Music Wins

It goes without saying that in even considering an acoustic album Bombay Bicycle Club have taken a very bold step away from what the majority of their NME brandishing fanbase are going to be comfortable with. Calling the album “Flaws” is similarly, crying out for a critic to twist the title into a cynical review subject line. These bold moves however need to be measured by their intent; this is no ‘token’ acoustic album from a firmly established band, nor is it a cry for attention. “Flaws” essentially appears instead to be an exposition of Bombay Bicycle Club’s true colours, one deliberately timed early enough to prevent any premature evaluation of the band’s true sound from becoming ‘set in stone’ so to speak. My ‘theory’ (if you want to call it that), is that “Flaws” is not a new direction from a popular ‘indie band’ (cringeworthy term I know), but instead the work of a band who have always been far more comfortable in their acoustic skin than in the way they were previously perceived.

“Flaws” certainly gives the impression that, first time round, Bombay Bicycle Club were born into the wrong body. I like to think that now they are reincarnated into this radiant attire, they’ll use it to create many more an album in the same vein, because “Flaws” really couldn’t flow much more easily or naturally. The whole album, at 11 tracks and just over 35 minutes, kind of merges into one if you’re not paying proper attention – with single “Ivy and Gold” and opener “Rinse Me Down” perhaps most likely to grab your attention in a similar way to the material from “I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose” (2009). This gentle acoustic jaunt however, for the most part stays calm and collected, with a mixture of optimistic and melancholy fingerpickings flying around from all directions. The acoustic tones are reminiscent of others from the London folk scene, even with a shadow of Drake about them (see “Jewel”), but the recording retains the echo on the not-so-Drake vocals, one of Bombay Bicycle Club’s most brilliant and distinctive features. The blander parts of the ‘old sound’ have been replaced with gorgeous twee folk melody, and the idiosyncratic vocals have been retained and further strengthened.

“Flaws” brings together a clear aptitude for brilliant songwriting (clear from day one with this band), a wonderfully distinctive, almost grainy vocal, and some near perfectly recorded acoustic tones, joined by at times almost bluegrass instrumentation. It is unassuming and timelessly recorded and can only be described as a wonderful success in my eyes from a band who disappointed (slightly) the first time around. To me, the idea of almost anyone leaving this album on repeat is entirely feasible, and that’s not an insult – there’s elements for those who will appreciate them, and sections for those who won’t; the whole choral feel (see “Fairytale Lullaby” and “My God”) about this clean-tone acoustic album is calming, reflective, and occasionally sinister . “Flaws” has all the calming introspective charm of emerging Australians The Middle East; and ridden with emotions positive and negative, is held together by a thin bound of simplicity and maturity whose turbulent realisations never once detract from the effect. “Flaws” can only be described as a stunning success, from a band from which few could have expected such a swift, solid and eclectic return to the limelight.

Bombay Bicycle Club – Ivy and Gold (MP3)

Bombay Bicycle Club - Jewel (MP3)

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