The Bank Holidays - Sail Becomes A Kite

The Bank Holidays are a band you would listen to on a beach, sitting on the sand, dreaming the day away. Comprised of Nat Carson, Stuart Leach, and James and Bekk Crombie, the group’s second album Sail Becomes A Kite evokes images of getting lost in far away places, while also containing lighter, more contemplative moments which add a dreamy element to the album. Metaphors of the sea and floating away on the breeze help to carry themes of love and loss, and allow the listener to contemplate and dream simultaneously.

The follow-up to As A Film, the band’s debut LP, Sail Becomes A Kite was very much influenced by a sense of longing for “home” after an extensive stay in a Norwegian coastal house. It is easy to see both the Australian and European inflections on this album come together; the band’s acoustic-laden brand of pop is created in a rather spacious and almost atmospheric manner. Particles is a particularly good example of these elements in full force, as the song slowly sways and swaggers along care of a lightly strummed acoustic melody and a beautifully engaging pitter-patter drum-beat. Without It also implements these stylings, while incorporating female vocals in this instance to add a different perspective on the lyrical themes. Yes, I use female in a broader sense, as it is not clear on either the liner notes or the band’s website exactly who the central vocalists on this record are. But this ultimately becomes one of the album’s focal points in that the inclusion of group harmonies throughout the record help to enhance the main vocal output of each song, and make the sound become more of a collective effort.

The female-led tracks certainly provide the higher points on Sail Becomes A Kite, perhaps due to the fact that these vocal performances suit the band’s dreamy sound more accurately. It must be said however, that the predominately male-led songs add a different element to The Bank Holidays’ sound. Songs like Tripping Up To Fall In Love and Her Majesty’s Voice help to make the record that much more eclectic and diverse. Think Animal Collective doing the Beach Boys. It is hard not to draw a comparison to the seminal 70s surf-rockers, yet The Bank Holidays encapsulate this sound so well that they almost manage to make it their own.

Organic synth over-tones become more prevalent on the latter half of the album, as the album takes another turn and leans towards a more retrospective vision compared to the aforementioned rockier-type tracks. In The Desert is a slow-burner that displays a more thoughtful level of songwriting, while album closer Gravity’s Playthings is perhaps a more traditional folk song that could quite easily have come from one of your parents’ vintage record collections circa late 1960s. The sunny elements of the band’s sound genuinely return here, with a subtle vibraphone melody building into a massive chorus that sounds equal parts joyous and demanding, and makes it one of the standout tracks of the album.

Sail Becomes A Kite is no more spacious as it is engaging; no more retrospective as it is introspective; and overall, cleverly combines a variety of pop elements to create a sound that evokes images of running wild and being free. And although the band intended the record to sound more autumnal than their debut release, the summery influences are still here for all to see. A fantastic release from a band that is clearly moving forward with their sound and doing great things around the country. We will surely be hearing more from The Bank Holidays as the weather gets warmer, the nights get longer, and our worries disappear.