Bobhowla: What You’ve Lost Isn’t Failure

Bobhowla’s thoughtful and upbeat pop seems a perfect fit for the rays of spring sunshine that are currently streaming through my window.

The journey of Bobhowla to this momentous point has been a long one, taking around fifteen years so far, but it has been a journey well worth taking, as they may well have delivered the feel good album of the year.

There is an uplifting, foot tapping quality to new album What You’ve Lost Isn’t Failure that makes it impossible to sit still while listening, usually with a big grin etched on to your face. First track, Killing Time, illustrates this perfectly with its classic guitar line and confident vocal. It is a perfect way to start an album, although the same could be said of many of the tracks here, What You’ve Lost Isn’t Failure is bursting with such gems.

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There are echoes of classic pop running through Killing Time, with R.E.M. and The Beatles springing to mind, but all filtered through Bobhowla’s own innate sense of melody and energy. The harmonies here are enough to make a grown man swoon.

Second track, the curiously named Oh, Astrid, has a retro sixties swing (via ’80s indie) to it that aims squarely at the feet, something accentuated by the trumpets that kick in about halfway through. Howard Doupe’s vocal soars over the song, giving the song its main melody but there are hooks aplenty here. In lesser hands the nostalgia vibe may overwhelm, but here it gives the song a tremendous sense of fun.

Embers shows a more serious side of Bobhowla and is a widescreen melancholy number. The drums keep a steady off beat rhythm throughout the song and the harmonies again bring me to my knees. There is a huge sound being developed here giving the songs an epic feel. It is easy to imagine this song providing watercooler moments following an appearance on Later. Fingers crossed.

Needed Somewhere Else slows things down a little with a bluesy near ballad. Full marks go to drummer Al McNay and some sterling guitar work from John Brindle here, Bobhowla sound like not just a band but a gang, working together to scale heights that sound destined for bigger and better things.

Belong is up next and is a gentle acoustic song with another superb vocal as Doupe sings, “Was it worth all that you are just to belong?” Bobhowla seem to be able to move from hard edged songs to cinematic ballads at the drop of a hat and without losing any of their identity as songwriters and musicians.

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As is to prove this point, Decisions To Own is upbeat and positive with Doupe now singing “everything’s magnificent” with an infectious optimism.  At this stage there is even a swagger about Bobhowla that comes with confidence and even maturity. They sound as though, without being self aggrandising in any way, they know just how good they are and are happy to bask in this a little.

Lifetime starts with something of a stomp before again turning up the epic dial. At this point I feel I should apologise for the overuse of the word ‘epic’, but that is exactly what Bobhowla are, as Lifetime demonstrates with a chorus of perfect harmonies that reach for the sky and work their way into your consciousness. Bobhowla sound like a band releasing their tenth album and knowing that it will sell by the millions.

Things calm down a little on Movements Made, with another superb vocal from Doupe and the surprise inclusion of some whistling! The song is lifted by some atmospheric piano work from Brindle and is anchored by solid bass work from Graham Fletcher-Hill. There are echoes of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here (the song rather than the album) about the vocal line, which is always a good thing in my book.

A sprightly flourish of guitar opens Taken By Love, an acoustic number that manages to sound full and cinematic despite the spartan instrumentation. Bobhowla excel at putting a song together, with bridges joining everything together and their songs flowing with practiced ease, something that Taken By Love shows with its stripped down nature.

What You’ve Lost Isn’t Failure finishes with Pull The Trigger (Now Run), a worthy closer with a Beatles-esque flavour. An album like this needs to finish on a high point and Pull The Trigger (Now Run) is exactly that, with Bobhowla saving the best for last – a feat that is made all the more difficult by the many high points we have had so far. It is difficult to listen to this without picturing a mass hands in the air singalong that would continue long after the band had left the stage.

Pull The Trigger (Now Run) is a certified contender for track of the year and is a song that many bands would sell their grandmothers for. Saying that there are hints of I Am The Walrus and Hey Jude (both classic closing songs) here should give you some idea of the heights being scaled here. Bobhowla have excelled themselves here with a song that should be regarded as a modern classic.

With the sun still streaming in through the window I can think of no finer soundtrack to the blossoming of nature that is happening, as trees and flowers revitalise themselves and the world seems full of optimism and potential.

With What You’ve Lost Isn’t Failure Bobhowla have proved themselves worthy of a place at the top table, no matter the weather.

What You’ve Lost Isn’t Failure is out Friday via 9X9 Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.