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My Big Day needs more love. The most mature and complete Bombay Bicycle Club record so far!

People often look at the post-punk revival and point out where it started. The Strokes “Is This It” and Interpol’s “Turn on the Bright Lights” are often credited as being the albums that marked the start of a new era in rock music. Post-punk has its roots in the late 70’s when bands like Siousxie and the Banshees and Joy Division started experimenting with the raw, anarchic style of punk, creating all kinds of new directions for indie bands.

I was a teenager when the post-punk revival was in full swing and so my music taste has been very much influenced by this genre. I loved Interpol during their first three albums and I was a huge Bloc Party fan. “So Here We Are” and “Like Eating Glass” still rank at the top of my all-time favorite songs list. During the post-punk revival, rock music seemed to be back in charts after almost a decade of relative silence. The late nineties was not the best time to be a rock music fan. Sure there were the more commercial nu-metal acts like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. But in that brief era from 2005 to 2008 when the Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Kooks were storming the charts with their now classic hits, it felt like rock music was making a huge comeback.

But all good things come to an end and so did the post-punk revival. The revival in hindsight turned out to be the swan song. Rock as a mainstream genre pretty much died after the 00's. Looking at today’s music scene we have to conclude that The 1975 is the most ‘rock’ act on the top of the charts. And don’t get me wrong here, I love The 1975 for their creativity and zero-fucks-given attitude with which they play with different styles and genres. But they don’t rock like we used to.

So, if post-punk started with The Strokes, then where did it end? Cue Bombay Bicycle Club. In 2009 this London based band released their debut album “I had the blues, but I shook them loose”. The album didn't get a lot of attention. I think it's because the post-punk hype had ran out of steam and listeners were moving on to other genres. Folk inspired music was hot with acts like Arcade Fire, Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear releasing acclaimed records and Vampire Weekend was hot with a style combining rock with electronic and world music. Bombay Bicycle Club's debut record therefore flew completely under my radar. Also the band name put me on the wrong track. I was not into ‘Indian’ music (although later I would be during a weird phase in my life). A few years later I would give ‘Blues’, as I will refer to it from now on, another chance and things really clicked.

Blues doesn’t seem like a big deal upon first listen. But the more you play it, the more it invades its way into your eardrums. The album doesn’t really have a single stand out song. Most songs are mid-tempo and don’t really move toward a climax. Singer Jack Steadman’s sound can be awkward and sheepish at times. In spite all of this, Blues is an amazing work. The internal coherence of the album is extremely strong, reminiscing of The Strokes “Is This It”. Each song fits seamlessly into the next one, making it more appealing to listen to the whole record rather than individual tracks. Steadman’s singing may be sheepish, but his voice is also very soothing. I can’t really compare his voice to any other singers. But what really makes this record stand out are the phenomenal drums and bass lines. Dust on the Ground, with that extremely deep bassline is an excellent example of a BBC song that is carried by drum and bass rhythms. On other occasions, they use distorted guitar and bass riffs to create climactic moments on the album like on Cancel on Me and The Hill. Blues gradually creeped its way into my head and still stands as one of my favorite records today.

Years went by and Bombay Bicycle Club left their post-punk roots and started experimenting with a more electronic, eclectic sound. Every album after their debut has some very strong tracks. "Lights Out Words Gone", "Still", "Luna" and "I Can Hardly Speak" are some songs that come to mind. Yet, in my opinion they didn’t succeed in making another record with that same coherence and tension that Blues has. Gradually, BBC started flying under my radar again and perhaps this is the bands comfort zone because while I was busy not listening to them they were cooking a yolky surprise.

“My Big Day” is their sixth installment. It came out last year and once again whooshed right over my head. I remember listening to it once thinking, ‘BBC really lost their edge!’ and moving on with my life. That was a mistake and goes to show that you should always give a record several attempts. My Big Day is the most inspired, mature and consistent BBC album since their debut. The songs feel urgent and the record is full of tension, something I often felt was missing on previous releases. Also, the distorted guitar riffs made a comeback and BBC seems to combine their more eclectic style from later records with the post-punk origins on ‘Blues’. Song like "I Want to Be Your Only Pet", "Meditate" and closer "Onward" remind me a lot of their early sound.

But the biggest triumph of this record is all the excellent collaborations. I often worry when I see a tracklist full of features, because it can be sign that a band is trying to overcompensate for a lack of creativity. In this case however the collaborations all work out very well, adding new, fun dimensions to BBC's already diverse sound. Jay Som and BBC are such a good match and "Sleepless" is a wonderful tune with a dreamy, shoegazey sound. "Medidate" with Nilufar Yanya is one of the biggest bangers and the instrumental bridge is mesmerizing. The only guest artist that really steals the spotlight is Damon Albarn with his contribution on "Heaven". But I guess that’s what you get for working with a musical genius like Albarn.



Bombay Bicycle Club really stepped out of their comfort zone with this record. On My Big Day I hear a band who are six records in the game but sound more inspired, confident and driven than ever. As much as I wept for the end of the post-punk era, I respect any artist that pushes their boundaries and experiments with different styles. That is what separates the artist from the content creator. My Big Day feels like the culmination of all the musical life lessons Jack Steadman and company learned. A mature record where it really all comes together. I hope more people pick up My Big Day because I think it deserves a lot more attention.

BONUS: Bombay Bicycle Club covers Selena Gomez' "Lose You to Love Me" and made me realise how great that song really is!