Pip Blom - Bobbie (LP) - Pink Translucent Vinyl

Pip Blom’s third album, Bobbie, lands like a confident pivot from a band that has always felt restless in the best way. Released on 20 October 2023 through Heavenly Recordings, it takes the Amsterdam group’s sharpened indie rock instincts and threads them through sleek synths, drum machines, and a punchier sense of groove. The result is bright and immediate, but it keeps the scrappy heart that made Boat and Welcome Break such easy records to root for.

You can hear the change right away in Tiger, a single built on a rubbery bass line and clipped percussion that gives Pip’s cool, clear voice a lot of space to work its hooks. There is still guitar in the mix, but it jangles in service of the rhythm rather than crowding everything at the front. The writing leans into tight, repeatable phrases and subtle stacked harmonies, so choruses bloom without shouting. It is the sound of a band that studied the dance floor as much as the indie club.

Is This Love? takes the idea further, inviting Alex Kapranos to trade lines with Pip. The Franz Ferdinand frontman slots in with breezy charm, and the back-and-forth vocal gives the song a flicker of romantic tension that feels cinematic. It is also a neat little lineage moment, since Pip Blom’s early singles carried a Glasgow-leaning snap, and here that influence circles back in a playful duet. The synths are glassy and precise, the beat keeps a sprinter’s cadence, and the hook stays lodged in your head for days.

Part of what makes Bobbie click is how naturally the band wears this shift. Pip and her brother Tender have always written melodies that feel hummable on first listen, and here the production just clears the runway. The tempos nudge faster, the low end sits a little fatter, and the vocals ride above it all with a calm that reads confident rather than detached. You can imagine these songs pulling double duty, working in a sweaty club at midnight, then sliding into late night headphones on the ride home.

There is a through line from the early days to now. The band’s ear for small details remains sharp, the kind of tiny turns that make verses feel lived in. A stray guitar flicker sets up a chorus, a synth arpeggio leaks into the bridge, a handclap pops at just the right offbeat. Nothing feels overdecorated. You get the sense they pared back parts until only the best shapes were left.

The lyrics keep things conversational and direct. Pip has a knack for writing like someone talking across a table, which suits this neon-lit palette. Even when the rhythm section is sprinting, she sounds unhurried, and that contrast gives the record an easy magnetism. The production keeps her center stage without steamrolling the band’s chemistry.

Bobbie drew warm notices on release for the way it widened Pip Blom’s sound without dulling their personality, and it is easy to hear why. The album is concise, front loaded with earworm singles, and sequenced so the second half keeps you locked in rather than coasting. There is craft here, but it never reads fussy. It reads like four people finding a new pocket and enjoying it.

If you like collecting modern indie that actually pops on the turntable, this is a perfect candidate. The Bobbie vinyl pressing lets that bass presence hit just right, and the brighter synth textures stay crisp instead of harsh. For anyone digging through crates for Pip Blom vinyl, this is the record where their sound opens up, so it earns the shelf space next to Boat and Welcome Break. If you are looking to buy Pip Blom records online, most indie shops that stock Heavenly will have it, and Pip Blom albums on vinyl tend to disappear fast around tour time.

I have already pointed a few friends toward this one when they ask what feels fresh but still guitar adjacent. If your taste runs from classic post-punk bounce to modern synth-pop shimmer, there is a lot to love. And if you are browsing a Melbourne record store or any corner of the vinyl records Australia scene, keep an eye out for that bright sleeve. Bobbie is the sound of a band making a big room out of their songs, then inviting you in for the singalong.