After Bombay Bicycle Club‘s last album Flaws introduced the more mellow acoustic-folk side of the band, I didn’t think A Different Kind of Fix could stand up. I loved “I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose” and its crisp style of indie rock that mirrored other geographically and melodically close groups like The Maccabees, and the unplugged departure of their second album grabbed me by the cochlea and transduced its acoustical signals right on down to my auditory cortex.
Their newest collection of songs is almost a compromise for Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass) and Suren de Saram (drums)–it combines the standard electric feel of their first album with the softer, almost more sentimental tone of their second. Songs like “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep” and “Lights Out, Words Gone” will catch you from the first listen, and others like “Beggars” and “Your Eyes” take a little more time to chew over, but will rapidly become your favorites.
This album is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It melds the catchy, danceable tunes of pop with the substantive feel of rock, and the lyrical (and musical) depth and replay-ability of folk. The title says it best, this truly is A Different Kind of Fix.
