The Art of the Clap + The Bicycles

When it comes to catchy pop tunes, Toronto's The Bicycles have written the book, or should I say the album, by which I mean their new CD The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly. 17 tracks measuring on average 2 minutes each solidifies The Bicycles as icons of a different age. Listening to the album once from afar and again close-up clearly brings back a '60s-esque lo-fi feel, with slightly scratchy vocals, rattles and hand-clap rhythms. Which brings me to my next point, the art of the clap. When used strategically, as it is on this week's track "Australia" it adds a completely new dimension to the music. Acoustically, the clap cannot be duplicated. What instrument in the modern pop-band ensemble comes close? Certainly not the guitar, bass or drums. Even our ancient friend the tambourine, one of the most ancient instruments still in use today, is incomparable to the sharp yet warm sound of two hands in unison (if you want to know the sound of half of one-handing clapping listen to Joel Plaskett's ode to Kelowna in "Love That Town"). Its staccato snap punctuates the music as if from without. Perhaps it was my youthful years spent listening to bootlegs and audience recordings that have sensitized me to the lovely sound of hands in motion, but even without that historical tidbit, I'd still say the handclap is an instrument all to itself. Listen to its crisp albeit seldom sound in "Australia" and judge for yourself! For an over-indulgence of handiwork take a listen to "Paris Be Mine."

Other stand-outs on The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly include the first track, "B-B-Bicycles" and the airport lounge mix of (what sounds like) "My Guy" (or was it Whoopi's "My God"?) which comes out altogether new in "Ghost Town". "Cuddly Toy", the eleventh track on the album is very reminiscent of a Beatles track which means fans of 60s pop that are more knowledgeable than I will get a kick out of matching songs, albums, artists and influences to the The Bicycles.

Returning to "Australia", the hypnotic foot tappin' bass-line is rivaled only by the Golden Dog's Dynamo from last month and the layered cascading vocals is like something straight out of The Mamas and Papas or the Archies.

NewMusicCanada had this to say about my fellow Torontonians:

The Bicycles want their music to reflect who they are as people, as a band, and their outlook on the world, which sounds really boring, but think of all that set to a crisp bit of tambourine. Snappy! Basically, the Bicycles like to have fun.

So give it a spin yourself and those of you who know your classic pop better than I, let me know how you'd describe it!

The Bicycles - Australia.

PS. As I post this I'm heading out the door to fly back to Kelowna, BC for the holidays. I hope to be able to update the blog over the break, especially to post my top list of albums for 2006, so stay tuned. Lastly, as a Christmas gift to anyone who reads this blog, I will be handing out 5 invites to a top-rated music torrent site for serious audiophiles! If you're really into music and want a quality virus-free way to *sample* music from the Canadian indie scene and beyond shoot me a message or post on the board and I'll get one out to you!