Fresh off launching a fried egg at a bald man, Bombay Bicycle Club offers up an EP. Fantasies may be suspiciously close to the release of My Big Day – but there is no sense complaining of this feeling like a leftover collection of tracks not cut out for the Holly Humberstone and Damon Albarn-featuring record. Because it is (probably) not. Four collaborative tracks which the band can use to boast of working with Lucy Rose and Matilda Mann. Their endless bridge punching into the fog conjures up little imagery for the band beyond “what next?”. Who knows. It is up to them to decide and by the sounds of it, they are as clueless to their next steps as their listeners.
Opener Fantasneeze certainly hears how well these collaborations can work. They were the highlights of My Big Day after all – though Humberstone and Albarn are a different class. Mann makes for an excellent backing vocalist here with the twee and chirpy talents of Bombay Bicycle Club finding some new life in this Fantasies EP. Give Fantasneeze some time to grow and a few listens – it soon becomes one of Bombay Bicycle Club’s finest efforts. The promises made to another on how life will turn out for one another, the blind faith made as an action of easing the suffering and reassuring yourself and the other person. Soulful stuff, truly in touch with the world around them and Bombay Bicycle Club begins to make pertinent observations without mentioning the whirlwind of horrors which led us here.
Escapism meets the need to accept the world for what it is. Running out of time. Into the fog, we go. Second track Blindfold feels off-kilter and a bit like being lost in the mist. Racing hearts and hopes for the future spring to life and give the band a creative rush. Willow may not land all its attempts at deeper octaves and the desire to keep its head in the breeze, away from the worries of the real world and in the clouds, but its efforts sound genuine. It is something My Big Day lacked. What changed for Bombay Bicycle Club over the last few months is unclear, but it has turned their expression, style and outlook on life on its head. An excellent occurrence for those wanting a bit more weight to their work, which they now provide in abundance.
Such a surprising four-track release from Bombay Bicycle Club drags up the question of where this quality was for their previous record. They sound like a band confident of their approach to the world around them and the droning tones and well-maintained percussion of Blindfold keep them honest and open to the realities of the world. Fantasies have Bombay Bicycle Club sounding more in touch with their listeners than ever before. Punchy highs on the Rae Morris-featuring closer, Better Now, do give a sense of this being a slight blip of interest rather than a mood to continue with. Bombay Bicycle Club puts out their crossroads songs and chooses the path of light and lovable tunes which will have nowhere near as much depth as these tracks have.
