ABSENCE makes the heart grow fonder, and in the three-year hiatus that Bombay Bicycle Club has taken, it would appear to make our love for them grow stronger still.
At the beginning of 2015, just a few weeks after Bombay Bicycle Club played a triumphant hometown show at London's Earl's Court – the biggest in their 10 years together as a band – the four members all went for a drink.
They had just finished 18 months of touring their fourth record, So Long, See You Tomorrow, which had given them their first number one album. It was here that they decided to break up.
"Everything Was Going Really Well is a great alternative album title," jokes guitarist Jamie MacColl.
Lead singer Jack Steadman says that despite their success, it felt like a natural moment for them all to step away from what had been at the centre of the four men's lives since they were at school. "It's so much easier to stop when you can call it quits and know you were at the top," he explains. "I think if we had gone any longer, we may have broken up in such a way that we might not have ever been able to return to it."
Their break was a busy one, and each member felt they needed to see life outside the band. Steadman went on to release an album as Mr Jukes, MacColl went to university to study for a BA and a Masters, Nash released a record as Toothless, and Suren de Saram hit the road as an in-demand session drummer.
Lucky for us, Bombay Bicycle Club's new album, Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, is about to drop on Friday. Bassist Ed Nash says the title is an honest rendering of how the band were feeling.
"Part of the charm when we were younger was about going out and writing about girls and parties, and people received that well, because it was honest. Being back in our late 20s isn't about that anymore. One of the tracks, I Worry About You is about worrying about someone in a relationship.
"This is about finding our place in the world, and worrying about yourself, feeling anxious and how music being a part of something that helps you deal with that. We're writing about our everyday experiences and feelings. It's changed, and we're writing about more adult concerns," says Ed.
"I think it's important to grow as an artist. I really liked Blink 182 when I was growing up and listened constantly to their albums, but now they're in their 40s and they're still singing about having sex in phone boxes and stuff like that. It's like 'Come on man, you don't believe that, do you? You could be doing something else.' It almost becomes embarrassing. They're all family men in their 40s – maybe it's something that works for them. But you must be honest with what you're writing about, or people know."
Everything Else ... first arose tentatively, off the back of 10-year celebrations of the band's first album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose. Unlike their contemporaries, the decision to return wasn't announced through a huge dramatic mike-drop stunt, and the video for single Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing but You) was a bright return to the music we loved and missed.
"The first video was a tongue-in-cheek way of announcing our return," said Ed. "There are ludicrous comeback stories from other bands, but ours was just being silly. It's simple. We missed each other, and we missed doing the band which is why we're doing it again.
"We decided it would be pointless to do a 10th anniversary show and disappear again, but if we made new music we had to be looking forward. In 2014, I wasn't excited anymore. Having the time off has made me realise I am literally doing the best job in the world".
The band are marking the album with a tour that will bring them to two dates in the Barrowland Ballroom on the 28th and 29th of this month, a gig that Nash is especially excited for.
"My sister lives in Glasgow, and I absolutely love it there," he says. "I spent Christmas there. We're really excited for the tour, but also for the two dates there especially. The area around Queen's Park and The Laurieston are our favourites especially. There are so many good pubs there."
When the time comes, we could be joining them for a drink or a boogie. Either way, it feels good to have Bombay Bicycle Club back together.
Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is out now. Bombay Bicycle Club play at Barrowland Ballroom on January 28 and 29
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