Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind Of Fix

‘Fix’ is the third album from Bombay Bicycle Club, and if you’ve been following me for the past 3 years you’ll know how much I like them. Their debut was my favourite album of 2009 and the second album, the acoustic record was my number 2 (topped only by Delphic’s debut). Their 3rd record represents yet another transition and although is a return to the electrical guitar based sound on the first record, it’s definitely a development.

Instead of the guitar riff sound on the first album, the presence of synthesizer and pedal loops is much more prevalent on this record as is the inclusion of Lucy Rose on backing vocals, who only serves to strengthen BBC’s sound even further. She made Flaws the record that it was and she also makes ‘Fix’ the album that it is. Her voice perfectly compliments Steadman’s on backing vocals and elevates the record to the next level. Although at times it is easy to get lost in the album, it’s a record that only gets better as you become more familiar with it. Lights Out, Words Gone is easily a contender for song of the year.

Favourite Songs - Lights Out Words Gone, Shuffle, Leave It, What You Want, Still

Thrice - Major / Minor

If Beggars represented the completion of Thrice’s transition into an Alternative rock band, then Major / Minor exists to complete that legacy. An extremely solid album that in my opinion, lacks slightly in lyrical content when compared to it’s predecessor but makes up for it with extremely tight songwriting. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to listen to this as much as I’d like to because I haven’t been able to pick up a copy but thanks to Spotify I’ve been able to hear it before I buy it and it’s definitely on my shopping list for 2012.
This album also marks what could possibly be the end of Thrice as a “full time band” following a statement from Dustin on Thrice.net that the band wasn’t breaking up but taking a break…

Favourite Songs - Yellow Belly, Cataracts & Call It In The Air

The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

The Big Roar is the debut album from Welsh band, The Joy Formidable and released at the start of the year on Atlantic Records.
When I first heard this record I thought i’d already heard the album of the year. It’s an alternative heavy guitar based record that isn’t afraid to deviate at times into a progressive rock behemoth and for a debut record, there is a showcase of musical talent and experience on display.

Although this clocks in at number 5 in my lost, a nod of mention should go to Friendly Fires - Pala, Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones, Metronomy - The English Riveria & She & Him - A Very She & Him Christmas which are all great albums but haven’t made it into my top 5.

Favourite Songs: The Magnifying Glass, Austere, A Heavy Abacus & Cradle

Something which is a real bug bearer of mine, something that really brings my blood to a proverbial boil is when you happily show your loyalty to an artist, band, songwriter, group of Gregorian Nuns or whoever happens to be tearing up the charts at the time, by pre-ordering their latest release, your reasons for which can usually be catigorized as following;

1. you have been eagerly anticipating this record for most of your recent existence and simply cannot bear to think that other ordinary people in the world like yourself should have the opportunity to listen to this record on the day of release before you should.
2. you support the band, and/or the label and out of respect either for their grueling tour schedule, blog and website updates about how hard they worked on the record, or just for the band in general, you reciprocate that in the form of pre-ordering the album
3. any other miscellanious reason like the artwork looks nice?

only to get let down.

You pre-order their release and you either like it or hate it, whatever and then about 3 or 6 or 9 or even 12 months later they re-release it with “bonus” tracks and you are like: “W. T. F.”
The usual scenario is that you hear a new song on T.V or on the radio or on their myspace and think ‘oh wow, I can’t wait for to hear the next record!” only to faced with the soul crushing, stomach churning disappointment when you discover that ‘Track X’ is going to be featured as bonus content on the re-release of a record that you already flipping own.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUU”.

This a real annoying turn of events for me, and not-so-much because so many of the bands that I follow have been guilty of releasing, re-releasing and re-re-releasing their records. To name and shame a few:

1. Friendly Fires -s/t with Kiss Of Life, now a bonus track on their debut.
2. Florence and the Machine - Lungs with more bonus content than I can be bothered to list. By my reckoning it’s been released and re-released about 64 times now.
3. Bloc Party - Intimacy with One More Chance
4. Ellie Goulding - Lights with *ahem* Lights which, ok, is an ITunes exclusive, but it will also feature on the coming re-issue ‘Bright Lights’

There are others that escape me right now, but you get the point I’m trying to illustrate?

In my not so humble opinion, and speaking as perhaps one of the last of a dying breed of music consumers that still order shiny round things called CD’s that used to be around before ITunes and MP3 players, would it not be too much to ask of musicians and record companies that those amongst your fan base who are loyal enough to effectively provide an angel investment by pre-ordering a record receive some kind of remittance when you re-release that same record with a bonus song?! Perhaps a download link to download the track for 39p? Or whatever is cheaper than the going rate for a song from Amazon MP3? It really is quite a humble request considering that you effectively render our precious pre-release record redundant when you slap a tasty and catchy bonus single on there.

I’m sure there are a 1001 industry arguements for this kind of practice, whether it be to revive falling sales of a debut album, or perhaps purely to keep an artist/singer/songwriter/Gregorian Nun in the spotlight while they are on a particularly lengthy stint between album number X and album number Y, but I’m sure it cannot hurt to somehow reward the disconcerting music fan, who faithfully pre-orders a record with, largely, honest attentions only to be let down when the same record hits the shelves with that track that they have grown to love, I mean nobody wants to buy the same album twice just for one or maybe two songs do they? It really is an awful practice that has been around, i’m sure, for alot longer than recent memory, but unfortunately it still happens today and quite a heavy majority of musicians and record labels are guilty of it.

Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose

I’ve already vented how I feel about this album quite alot already, which you can read here so I’ll avoid going over old ground…

This for me was the best record of 2009 for the following reasons:

1. The entire album flows perfectly from the opening song to the closing. At no point does the record die off, even at ‘Always Like This’ which in comparison with the rest of the record, bar the final track, is one of the slower ones.
2. This was the most refreshing and uplifting sound I had heard in a very long time. The whole ‘nothing new’ argument could still apply because of the “jingly jangly” guitar riffs mixed with good old fashioned indie rock riffing, but Jack’s vocals are amazing, and it seems to knit everything together perfectly making the whole record sound fresh and original even if it does take shades from other bands
3. Every single track has the ability to carry it’s own as a single release. There seriously isn’t a weak song, or a filler song on the entire album. Even the closing track ‘The Giantess’ which is a slower, live session recording could hold it’s own.

I could probably go on, if I sat here all day and thought of things, but I think I’m in danger of waffling on too much.
I cannot stress how good a record I think this is, it seems to have captured perfectly the live spirit of the band and produced the most catchy, enjoyable album I’ve heard in a very long time. I hate it when reviewers compare bands to other, more established acts, but there’s shades of Bloc Party, Editors, Interpol perhaps even early Libertines-ish guitar work in here, but instead of churning out the same old Brit-Pop sound, B.B.C. seem to have re-invented it and injected it with a youthful exuberance and made an outstanding debut record in the process.

Favourite Tracks: Lamplight, Dust On The Ground, Cancel On Me, The Hill

Anyone want a NEW and SEALED copy of Justice’s debut album Cross?

I’m selling one for cheap on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220470531909