album: Everything Else Has Gone Wrong
artist: Bombay Bicycle Club
genre: rock & roll
release date: January 17, 2020
star rating: three out of five

review by Silas Yager

Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is the fifth studio album released by Bombay Bicycle Club. Following the significant commercial and critical success of the group’s fourth album (So Long, See You Tomorrow), coupled with a six-year-long hiatus, a comeback album from Bombay Bicycle Club has been much anticipated by the “indie” music scene. After it was announced that the group was back together, they released Everything Else Has Gone Wrong in January.

Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is an album about the solace and comfort one can receive from music during hard times. As the title would suggest, when everything else goes wrong in life, music can be turned to as a means of relief and escape. With jazz influences from frontman Jack Steadman – whose solo jazz project took off during the band’s hiatus – and a seemingly more pop-centered sound than the group’s previous work, this record is a well-made, fun, and overall energetic comeback from a band some thought had already hung up the towel.

However, it’s not without its flaws. Over the years of releasing music, Bombay have always seemed to push the envelope in some aspect of their sound. Whether that be through the world music and sample-heavy loops on their fourth album, or recording an entirely acoustic album for their sophomore release directly after their post-punk debut LP, there was always something very dynamic and fresh about every release that you would look for in new Bombay tunes. Everything Else Has Gone Wrong seems to lack some of the more daring intricacies and complexities that a Bombay listener would typically expect from an album of theirs.

While this new music is a joy to listen to, it can come off as a bit recycled as you near the end – and deficient in new sounds you were hoping to hear from a band that has been away for nearly six years. There are certainly highlights to the album, and as you listen to it more and more, you’ll start to pick up on some neat technicalities and flurries of the old Bombay that you probably didn’t pick up on during the first few listens. However, as enjoyable as this album is, and as great as it is to finally hear from Bombay again, most fans will likely find themselves throwing on the band’s older releases when they need to get their Bombay fix.