Bombay Bicycle Club ‘Flaws’ // First Listen

Bombay Bicycle Club
Flaws
(Island)

Not even a year since the release of their debut, Bombay Bicycle Club follow ‘I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose’ with an acoustic album, mostly penned by frontman Jack Steadman but also featuring covers of songs by John Martyn and Joanna Newsom. It’s a brave idea to release an album so dissimilar to the debut which garnered them so much support initially, but after listening to the album and examining the album credits, ‘Flaws’ almost plays out like the Jack Steadman show – all of the songs bar two are written by Steadman (apart from Track 6 by John Martyn and 11 by Joanna Newsom) and most were produced by him in his bedroom. Prepare for a departure from their trademark crashing guitar riffs and exhilarating moments of indie anthemia, then, and settle down for a far more demure approach to finger plucking…

‘Rinse Me Down’
A dusty country guitar introduces this acoustic album, before a tender vocal by Steadman chimes, with a layered, Bon Iver timbre to his voice. ‘Rinse Me Down’‘s country feel has definite flecks of Ryan Adams, the whimsical guitar work replicating a similar sound to that of his ‘Everybody Knows’ single. A masterfully subtle beginning.

‘Many Ways’
Dainty banjo strumming shepherds the soft tenderness of Steadman’s vocals on ‘Many Ways’. With lyrics like “You’re quick to guess my choice/Is it my trembling hand or my voice/She said you’re stirring/Toss and turning/Just like you would at night/I’m sure your choice is right” alongside the subtle guitars and surprisingly melancholic banjo, his vulnerable and self-deprecating words are brought to the forefront of this song. When he sings “I’ve always been a coward”, you can’t help but be left with a maternal feeling of sympathy, it sounds like he could do with a big hug.

‘Dust On The Ground’
A familiar beginning, ‘Dust On The Ground’ is a crooked, rambling take version of their ‘I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose’ track. The original version sees the singer’s voice lower to a Paul Bank’s like solemnity, whilst the rest of the song takes on shoegazey guitars and an epic indie anthem ending. However, this understated acoustic rendition applies a slow, country pace, with a sprinkling of shakers and what sounds like the distant lapping of waves.

‘Ivy & Gold’
“One two, one, two, three, four..” begins an altogether more lively song, ‘Ivy & Gold’ awash with upbeat banjos. The song bounces along with a hoe-down styled beat, until the chorus takes a melancholic turn as Jack sings “You’re a layer of my clothes/Middle of ivy and gold”. Tying up the song with a neat full stop, the playful, abrupt wrapping-up of the song adds a mischievous feel to the song.

‘Leaving Blues’
‘Leaving Blues’ is the captivating stand-out track on this album. Steadman’s voice has a Devendra Banhart quiver at times, especially when he sings, “Breathing the smoke of the train/Keep the thought of you aflame/I’m sure you know that I’m leaving”. It’s impossible not to feel touched by the simplistic beauty of the song.

‘Fairytale Lullaby’
A cover of John Martyn’s ‘London Conversation’ album opener, the song certainly lives up to its innocent and enchanted title, with lyrics like “If you want to ride a rainbow with me come /And I will take you in a magic purple sea/Maybe we’ll find a thousand sugar fish/And when you eat them they will grant your every wish”. The cover, akin to the original, overspills with its jovial words and plodding pace, and narrowly avoids being sickly sweet with its charming guitar trills and Steadman’s soothing vocals.

‘Word By Word’
Opening with a warm Nick Drake-esque guitar sound, Steadman’s voice seems lighter and more youthful here. With a minimal backdrop, his vocals drop in sporadically, “If I could tell you gradually/Word for word you’d take it from me/It would be over instantly/Landing us where you thought it would be.” The song’s meaning is ambiguous, but it works, ‘Word By Word’’s overall impact feels like a distant, faint breeze.

‘Jewel’
Steadman’s lyrics drop in and out of comprehension on ‘Jewel’, sometimes clear and sharp and other times drowsy and indecipherable. You realise by this far on the album, it’s hard to speak about this album as a full band project, considering the one-man-and-guitar direction this LP has taken. This is a faint folk song which drifts out of your memory pretty fast, but holds a gentle resonance none the less.

‘My God’
With a mystical fade-in of tangled guitar strumming, there’s something dark and ostentatious about ‘My God’, reminiscent of a Patrick Watson’s ‘Close To Paradise’ album. An insight into Steadman’s religious perspective, it seems he’s shrouded in fear when he sings “Holy eyes are downwards/Your fumbled words are spent/Paying no attention to the thoughts of your dear friend/No point louder/The sound of my power/Further you tower/My god”.

‘Flaws’
The title track features an Isobel Campbell-esque vocalist, a wraithlike contrast to Jack’s wavering vocals. With lyrics like, “The life of a selfless man/’Cus out of all the flaws I’ve stumbled on/It’s the hardest one to focus on”, it makes for a stunningly stirring song.

‘Swansea’
Listening to the cover of Joanna Newsom’s ‘Swansea’, you notice how much influence the singer must have had on Steadman’s own vocals, that borderline ear-aching quality combined with ethereal tenderness is a sound that’s rubbed off on the young north Londoner. It’s an enchanting close to ‘Flaws’, replacing Newsom’s harp plucking with simple guitars, distant trumpets and airy vocals towards the end.

It’s a mature and accomplished set of songs and covers, totally heart rendering at times and at others blissfully delicate, showing another string to the Bombay Bicycle Club bow…

‘Flaws’ will be reviewed in a future issue of The Fly.