After a three year hiatus, Bombay Bicycle Club have returned with a brand new album: ‘Everything Else Has Gone Wrong‘ celebrated with a small performance in-store at the Rough Trade East record store. Over a 14 track set, the indie-group debut a number of new tracks from their latest release, but also perform some fan favourites from earlier critically acclaimed albums.
The group have six band members on stage throughout the set, with their live performance making the intimate venue feel like a stadium show. Catchy choruses to new tracks like ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing but You)‘, ‘Is It Real‘ and title track ‘Everything Else Has Gone Wrong‘ echoed throughout the record store and had fans singing along as much as to the earlier hits
Whilst these new tracks felt just as fun and big as previous Bombay hits, there were some tracks which seemed to lose the interest of the crowd a bit, such as the song ‘Good Day‘. But almost before I could start to feel disinterested, the group saved it by mixing the new track perfectly into their hit song ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep‘, from 2009’s ‘A Different Kind of Fix‘.
As we were seeing the group on stage together over a decade after the release of their debut project, it was a relief to see that there was still excitement, energy and happiness on all of their faces throughout. It was clear to the fans in attendance that the group were honoured to be back on stage performing their hit tracks to a sold-out crowd, which was so lovely to see. At times it can feel as though bands are only reuniting or touring again as a cash grab, but as the members of the band looked around at each other, exchanging playful smiles, it was clear that this was something they wanted to be doing.
The group ended their set with one of their biggest hits, 2010’s ‘Always Like This‘. The track’s iconic riff sounded identical to how it sounds on record, as lead singer Jack Steadman powered through the chorus as well, if not even better than he had on the track’s original recording over a decade earlier.
It was an amazing opportunity to witness the group in such a personal and close environment and there is no doubt that Bombay Bicycle Club will be able to keep touring for as long as they want after this hiatus, if they maintain the same energy and enjoyment they displayed in this set.
The Gig Archive 