Bombay Bicycle Club’s set list was a coin toss. The North London quartet has shifted aesthetics on each of its three albums, and with no new LP since 2011’s A Different Kind of Fix, that meant all of the band’s discography was fair game. The four jammed harder than expected based on its sea change into ambient dream rock. Jack Steadman has a clear tenor that works well over Real Estate-style harmonics, whirling between endless synth and guitar weavings. The guitar, bass, and drums bantered back and forth and headed into new song “You Carry Me,” an infectiously joyful tune that teeters on the edge of being twee. “Shuffle,” A Different Kind of Fix hit, focused on electronics after the group had dedicated a large part of its set to guitar speeches, but in that song, Bombay Bicycle Club gave fans a richer sense of the electronics behind the music.
This article appears in October 19 • 2012.