Toothless

The Pace Of The Passing

ISLAND. CD/DL/LP

By gum: Ed Nash, bassist from Bombay Bicycle Club, steps out alone.

Before taking an indefinite break at the start of 2016, Bombay Bicycle Club were one of those bands who constantly seemed to be on the brink of bursting their indie banks, but never quite swept anyone away. Toothless, the project of bassist Ed Nash, initially appears to succeed where they failed: opening track Charon swarms with ideas, the pastoral pollen of Donovan, Richard Davies and XTC stuck on its buzzy wings. The intrigue continues with the busy Grizzly Bear chime of Sisyphus and Alright Alright Alright’s Lush-style dreampop, while guest vocals from Marika Hackman and Wild Beasts’ Tom Fleming add some exterior life. Yet The Pass Of The Passing is, ultimately, oddly inscrutable, a musical ghosting, its seductive, meticulous textures – acoustic wisps and Slowdive sighs on The Sun’s Midlife Crisis, Flaming Lips drums on Party For Two – elegant compensation for the lack of a strong centre.