Emergency Contraception Blues

Photo montage by Eleanor Doughty, words by Darryl Marsden.

After releasing their debut album, “I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose” in July of this year, Bombay Bicycle Club took on the festival circuit again this summer playing Reading and Leeds festivals for the third year running and are now embarking on a short UK run. Judging by the look of those in attendance tonight it’s a good thing most of the dates are 14+ otherwise it could have been a Flight of the Conchords empty gig style affair.

Entering the stage on the right they’re greeted to huge cheers and frontman Jack Steadman has a grin as wide as Christmas Day. People are clambering to view from the stairs, the boys and girls at the front are buzzing from the sip of their Dad’s Red Stripe they had before sending him off to the back of the room and all is set for a rock show.

BBC blast through the set which relies heavily on their first LP release but also takes songs from the old EPs for the die hard fans. For such young men they really must have studied their post punk because songs such as “Dust On The Ground” and “The Hill” sound more mature than the cheddar their mum puts in their sandwiches. They mix this older sound with a youthfulness and charm to create a sound which really is their own. Many younger bands look a little lost on the stage but BBC take to it with ease and have energy in abundance, which rubs off on the rowdy crowd down at the front, with a barrier even being knocked over at one point. The dynamics of “Lamplight” would not sound out of place on a Pixies record, a band that BBC will be supporting later this month in London. Driving basslines are a plenty, effects are used to the max and you can guarantee the hooks will be in the kids heads in registration tomorrow morning.

[MYSPACE] Visit BBC on myspace here.
[SPOTIFY] Listen to their debut album here.