BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB - I HAD THE BLUES BUT I SHOOK THEM LOOSE - LIVE AT BIXTON REVIEW
As far as live concerts go I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose (Live At Brixton) was one of significance to both the band and to the fans. The live recording is the immortalising of the experience and certainly one any attendee should add to their collection.
At the end of a hideous year where live music has become an almost intangible distant memory, Bombay Bicycle Club sprinkles nostalgia like confetti with their lasted live album, I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose (Live At Brixton).
Recorded in 2019 as part of their handful of debut album 10 year anniversary shows, the Brixton live show was unparallel in showcasing Bombay Bicycle Clubs impeccably tight musical unit, their pure love for performing for fans and just how monumental their debut album I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose is.
The live recording captures this and so much more, including the euphoric essence of being crammed shoulder to shoulder with strangers as which one united missions – to bask in every ray of sunshine that a beloved band shines ever so brightly from the stage. Sitting through the play by play of the 12 track album becomes a vehicle of transportation to 2019 where you feel like you were in the venue, experiencing every smell of sweat and adrenaline as they swing into ‘The Hill’, every taste of beer and water keeping you refreshed from all of the synchronised singing on ‘Always Like This’ and every sound of gut-pounding drums, sweet guitars and smooth, luscious vocals from Jack Steadman for ‘Magnets’. The mixing is crisp and clear without cancelling out the roars of the crowd or the reverb echoing from the speakers making it an authentic experience, albeit minus the encore tracks that graced the Brixton stage. This is the only downfall of the album as it feels unfinished. There is no bow, no excessive roars to signal the end, no curtain close, no lights up to round out the concert journey.
Instead, what the live record down is have a solitary celebration. The second dial on the vehicle of transportation is set a whole decade prior, back to when I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose was in its infancy and when Bombay Bicycle Club were only a speckle in the music scene. This concert weaves an even stronger thread through the track listings, emphasising the conscious coupling of ‘Cancel On Me’ and ‘Autumn’, of ‘Evening / Morning’ to ‘Dust On The Ground’ and the slow ease in with ‘Emergency Contraception Blues’ leading to gigantic final chord of ‘The Giantess’.
As far as live concerts go I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose (Live At Brixton) was one of significance to both the band and to the fans. The live recording is the immortalising of the experience and certainly one any attendee should add to their collection.
Tammy Walters
★★★★☆