Last time Bombay Bicycle Club were in Australia, they were supporting fellow English rockers Elbow. Here’s hoping that band’s frontman believes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
“We're all big fans of Elbow,” Bombay Bicycle bassist Ed Nash explains, “so we loved watching them. We learnt a lot from them, actually... [about] how to interact with the audience. We were never particularly good at interacting with the audience before that. Guy Garvey is probably the most charismatic frontman I've ever seen, so it was like a master class in how to work up an audience. We picked up on a few things he said... actually, we stole a couple of things he said. If he sees our show, he'll probably be like, ‘What the fuck? That's my line.’”
Working an audience over isn’t something that comes naturally to the band, but after releasing three acclaimed albums in just over two years — I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, Flaws and A Different Kind Of Fix — and playing to ever-increasing crowds, it’s something they have to think about.
“One of the reasons we got into music is that we're all quite shy and awkward people,” Nash laughs. “Playing music is a good way to get around that, because you can express yourself in a different way. But then as your band gets bigger, it turns out that you once again have to confront people and talk to people and be very charismatic.”
A Different Kind Of Fix dropped last August. Considering their hectic release schedule, the fourth LP should be just around the corner, but Nash says they’re going to take their time with it.
“It'll probably take a little bit longer... I don't know, it's early days with this album and it may change, but I think it'll pick up where A Different Kind Of Fix left off. It'll have more sample-based songs, it'll continue down that electronic path. That's not to say it's going to be crazy dance music or it's going to be really far out — it'll still have guitars, bass, drums and everything we had before — but it'll just expand upon what we learnt with A Different Kind Of Fix.”
Bombay Bicycle Club Tour Dates
Fri Dec 28 - Falls Festival @ Lorne AmphitheatreSat Dec 29 - Falls Festival @ Marion Bay
Tue Jan 01 - The Regal Ballroom (Melbourne)
Wed Jan 02 - Factory Theatre (Sydney)
Thu Jan 03 - The Tivoli (Brisbane)
