Live Review: Bombay Bicycle Club @ Leeds 02 Academy

Date: October 3rd, 2011

Words: Michelle Lloyd

Monday night in Leeds. Dog is Dead and Dry The River have just wowed us with their more than competent sets, and we’re all eagerly awaiting the main event. 

Bombay Bicycle Club have embarked on their biggest UK tour to date, and the rammed O2 Academy is ready to see what the band’s fiercely anticipated ‘return to electric’ has to offer.

The lights go down and House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ and Fatman Scoop’s ‘Be Faithful’ bellow through the speakers. You could be forgiven for thinking you’d been thrust into a nightclub complete with disco lights. An extremely brave choice of intro music for a band that are often looked upon as shy and retiring. Perhaps it was a nod to the genre infusing on the new album where hip-hop looping makes an appearance, or maybe it was their time spent hanging with rappers in Atlanta whilst recording it that left a mark. 

Whatever the reason, in hindsight it was the perfect choice as what followed was a robust set from a band that seem to have evolved and found themselves as well as gaining confidence. A band that now seem happy to take centre stage and put on an accomplished show.

With three albums already to their name, the set included tracks old and new and showcased their diversity as a hefty guitar band as well as their intelligent, artful stripped back side. They chose to open with ‘Shuffle’ with its infectious, jittery piano sample ringing into every corner of the room. Much enthusiasm was given to the new material, with album tracks ‘Your Eyes’, ‘Bad Timing’ and ‘Leave It’ appearing like old favourites with the crowd.

Set staples ‘Open House’, ‘Evening/Morning’ and ‘Cancel on Me’ were played with added furore and aggression. The guitars seemed louder, more ferocious and stronger than ever, which was further amplified by the prolific, well thought out lighting design. When the music got stripped back the lights did too, none more so than during the hauntingly beautiful deliverance of ‘How Do You Swallow So Much Sleep’, for which giant light bulbs hung from the stage and glowed like stars in the night sky.

As a front man, Jack Steadman is incredibly endearing. With his somewhat giddy disposition and coy smile, he’s a pleasure to watch. Equally as endearing is the addition of Lucy Rose to the line-up with her angelic vocals and sprightly presence on stage. Their encore performance of the pensive and personal ‘Still‘, creating an intimate interlude and highlighting the note perfect vocals of both Lucy and Jack.

Barely into their twenties, it’s testament to their talent and hard work that Bombay Bicycle Club can deliver such a multifaceted set and enjoy the levels of success that some bands spent their whole career striving for. You can’t pigeon hole their sound; they move from indie kicks to sparse folk to danceable fizzling electronics effortlessly and that’s what makes them appealing. 

They’re not reinventing themselves, they’re evolving and experimenting. And by the looks of things, they’re enjoying every minute of it.

Find out more about Bombay Bicycle Club

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