Off the bat I just want to apologise for my week long absence from Altsounds. Unfortunately the records I was scheduled to receive last week only arrived yesterday afternoon. I understand this is due to the recent royal mail strikes and have no more to say on the matter (the last thing I want is for some disgruntled postman to read this and henceforth forward all my mail to the north pole) but I WILL say that said records managed to arrive in one piece.... and at least that's a start...... anyway on with the review.

Bombay Bicycle Club (yeah it's a terrible name but then so is Arctic Monkeys) first came to semi-prominence via a late night, channel 4 talent show. But before all long banished memories of long dropped former X Factor winners (whatever happened to that Steve guy anyway?) come flooding back please take a moment to settle in and judge the band on their own merits, because from this evidence there is a lot to admire in the BBC (sic).

Evening / Morning is an urgent, literate slice of British indie rock with a razor-wire production courtesy of Jim Abiss and some endearing hooks. Singer Jack Steadman might sound like he's constantly about to burst into tears (much like Conor Oberst or Davendra Banhart but not quite as histrionic) at any moment but the buzz-saw bass and angular guitars help keep the bands masculinity in check. The guitars here have a delicate balance and the rhythm section keeps things tight and focused, so aesthetically there's little to fault.

Lyrically there's a wistful, literate and cryptic streak that falls into place during the heart-on-sleeve chorus as Steadman declares "I am ready to owe you anything." It's a nice sentiment in theory but the quivering delivery lends what could be a rather cheesy line a great deal of gravitas. It's not a great song by any stretch (far too slight for starters) and I'd imagine Bombay Bicycle Club have better in their canon, but it intrigued me enough to look past the silly name. And that's one REALLY fucking silly name!

The B-side "You Already Know" is for my money a significantly better song and should really have been the A-Side. It's a wonderfully wistful acoustic ballad with some beautiful backing vocals and a stellar chorus, well worth checking out!