It’s inappropriate to talk about Bombay Bicycle Club’s “evolution," since that word assumes some kind of logical progression. Between 2009 and 2011, the London group released three albums—one as an affable post-punk-pop Arctic Vampires hybrid, another as a “quiet is the new loud” retread and, on the surprisingly vigorous, Ben H. Allen-helmed A Different Kind of Fix, a third that was sleek and streamlined Urban Outfitters mixtape filler. It secured them a sizable fanbase and not much respect as a rock band: it’s hard to get taken seriously when your first big break involves winning a Battle of the Bands, and even as their music improved significantly, this was often credited to their producers. But that all happened in the span of two years, about six months less than it took just to make their fourth LP. Another radical change and a wonder of cosmetic surgery, So Long, See You Tomorrow is an often dazzling, euphoric electronic-pop record where Bombay Bicycle Club have decided they don’t want to be seen as a rock band anyway.
Who knew that Bombay Bicycle Club's ultimate destiny would involve finally figuring out a way where TNGHT and the greatest hits of Alexandra Patsavas can coexist? On a musical level, it’s pretty much what most upstart “indie rock” (read: synth-pop) acts are trying in vain to suss out—how to make syncable, meet-cute songs conversant in maximalist, omnivorous R&B and hip-hop production. Compared to damn near every band trying to do the same thing, Bombay Bicycle Club are exceedingly well-prepared, having started as a hooky, if indistinct pop band and learning about crowd-pleasing electronic production by playing actual festivals. They’re operating with a broad scope and an eagerness to please, so every time they go overboard with the ProTools, it’s in the service of adding fundamental pleasures of melody or rhythm rather than dull atmosphere. The band recorded and produced So Long in their own studio, and wisely enlisted Mark Rankin as an engineer and mixer—he worked on the most recent Queens of the Stone Age and AlunaGeorge albums and that’s adequate preparation for band who likely asked him, “help us sound like both.”
In particular, first single “Carry Me” and opener “Overdone” show Bombay Bicycle Club getting newly aggressive, where they just want to express their joy in discovering different forms of sonic expression. The pummeling drum track of “Overdone” would’ve been ear-turning enough, but the title becomes a wink as the band piles on battling countermelodies, percussive synths, staggered drops and octave-shifted guitars. Meanwhile, “Carry Me” boasts the closest thing to a guitar riff, but it sounds more like a trombone over an impossibly jerky, inhuman rhythm, imagining Hidden-era These New Puritans as flower children rather than warmongers.
As fun as it is to hear Bombay Bicycle Club get all RoboCop, surrounding Steadman’s all-too-human vocals with rock ‘em, sock ‘em machinery, they’re even better at demonstrating how these bold new sounds can augment their charming, heart-on-sleeve wimpiness. The crucial thing here is that Steadman wants to show you what he’s learned from pop radio, not merely how much he likes Aaliyah. The marching band percussion lent to “It’s Alright Now” shows a band that’s smart about their pilfering from pop and R&B—they probably love Destiny’s Child’s “Lose My Breath” and decided to take the parts that could best compliment their burst-and-bloom, gushing hooks, while “Home By Now” teases with a bit of radio killa production before shifting towards a gorgeous, crushed-out heavenly duet between Steadman and Lucy Rose.
All of this happens within the first six songs and perhaps if Bombay Bicycle Club was more judicious about its pacing, So Long might be a total triumph instead of a very good LP adhering to a pop albums' tendency to frontload. Almost everything at least has its charms, though the cacophony of layered drums that eventually brings “Eyes Off You” and the title track to a climax feel like knowing apologies for the pretty, if a bit limpid piano balladry that precedes it. So Long’s dizzying array of percussion and instrumentation was meant to be a sonic passport of sorts, as Steadman spent the past couple of years globetrotting around Asia and Africa, but “Feel” is the one time where things get a little too Eat, Pray, Love.
Even still, it's hard to use Bombay Bicycle Club's enthusiasm against them. Whatever the songs on So Long are actually about is up for debate despite their plainspokenness, but suffice to say, they trigger the exact joy buzzers that leave you usually infatuated, perhaps a bit hopefully lovelorn. As with everything on So Long, it’s really the thought that counts and the hook on “Feel” lets you know what they’re trying to get at—“just one feeling,” repeated over and over.
