Ambient Aftermath

Bombay Bicycle Club

Featured in WSBU FM’s The Buzzworthy

Presenting their third studio album in three years, Bombay Bicycle Club’s A Different Kind of Fix shows just how talented the group is. Featuring an impressive lineup of melodious, foot-tapping tracks, the English band continues its upward climb to show the world they have the skills and temerity to be on top.

Made up of a familiar arrangement of two guitars by Jack Steadman and Jamie MacColl, a bass played by Ed Nash, and a drum kit through the talents of Suren De Saram, Bombay Bicycle Club’s musicians exhibit a beautiful array of musical integrity, melodic audacity and ambient blissfulness that is both wonderful and deep.

Their new 13-track album dropped last August and already it has made waves among the group’s fans and dramatically increased their following from their last album, Flaws from 2010.

A Different Kind of Fix is a superb concoction of ambient and spacious sounds with the sublime complement of guitars and a noticeably talented drum kit to tie it all together. The tracks are dream like. Each one sounds as if the instruments and melodies are floating around the listener, creating an atmospheric and one-of-a-kind musical experience.

The vocals blend into the sounds of the instruments and, while you can easily distinguish the lyrics from the music, generate this single being of sound that is as addicting as it is an all around pleasant and heavenly resonance. Lyrically and melodically, the album is great. The contingency of the two elements work with each other in a seamless scheme, and their dependency on each other gives A Different Kind of Fix an identity that can turn heads.

Let the riffs assault your eardrums as the Bicycle Club tells you its story. Let the melodies take you up and beyond, but let the vocals be your mooring to the earth.  A Different Kind of Fine is truly a fantastic album that will cause you to forget where you are for a while as you let yourself get caught up in a modern polyphonic symphony. 

Recommended Track:

“Shuffle”

Caveman with “CoCo Beware”

From New York, Caveman is an indie band who have a Decemberists-esque style with a Youth Lagoon resonance.  

Their debut album, CoCo Beware, dropped in late 2011 and there are many strong and genuinely good tracks. They incorporate a lot of four-part harmonies on top of their guitar, drum kit and synth setup, all recorded in a spacey, distant and hollow-sounding manner.

Caveman create a real mysterious vibe throughout the album. The synth is used as a dissonant and eerie effect to fill the space surrounding the guitars and drums, almost like an overtone at times. It’s really engaging sound, but at times it may seem over done or out of place on some tracks. The vocals can sound washed out at times, making it hard for the listener to understand the lyrics, but as for vocal talent, the harmonies are on point and concise. They do a really clean job vocally and that deserves respect. 

According to a review in the NY Press, they write their music to what they would want to listen to. The group has been somewhat together for a few years under various other band names and are finally making serious strides to further their musical career. They have played in many venues in NYC including a few in the Lower East Side and have opened up for a multitude of artists ranging from Here We Go Magic to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes.

CoCo Beware is available off iTunes for $8.99 and you can download the track “Thankful” off of their website for free.

Check out their Myspace Page too!

Tracks to Check Out:

“December 28th” (Favorite off the album)

December 28th by AmbientAftermath

“Great Life”

Great Life by AmbientAftermath

“My Time”

My Time by AmbientAftermath

Red Herring with “Chasing Windmills”

Red Herring is an indie-rock trio that has a similar sound to Yuck, but with that solid indie rock sound they blend in elements of blues that, when used right, honestly sound sublime. 

The guitar melodies with the indie style vocals that Chasing Windmills offers seem like enough, but then they hit you with a folksy-esque, distant and hollow sounding harmonica. The harmonies they present take awhile getting used to, but are really impressively interesting.

The tracks are loud as the vocals are recorded around the same volume as the instruments. This respectable style of recording really gives the Red Herring a natural and classic style. By merging the traditional and scratchy sounding recording with a modern indie rock sound they create a space that can only be filled by the truly unique vocals. The track “Cities Under Siege” offer this exact scenario. The duet harmonies by the female vocalists are superb. While the band may seem basic sounding, they are truly separated from the rest with their vocals. 

I recommend giving their whole album a listen. At times they have guitar melodies and riffs that could have Kings of Leon cancel another tour. It’s rare to find a modern blues band that you can tolerate for more than three tracks. Blues are a dying art and Im happy to say there are still people out there innovating and bringing more music to the table. Don’t get me wrong, Chasing Windmills isn’t the the greatest album out there, but if you’re looking for somebody to tell you a few stories, nod your head, or chill out and lose yourself in infectious melodies, then I highly suggest the Red Herring.

Check out these tracks, they get better and better every time you listen:

Cities Under Siege

Cities Under Siege by AmbientAftermath

Valhalla

Valhalla by AmbientAftermath