There was a disturbing trend of Turkish bands having nonsensical names for the past 10 years, and Son Feci Bisiklet (The Last Disastrous Bicycle..?) was at the the one that faced the most ridicule for it, being mocked by every comedian-wannabe. I couldn’t care less about the name though—I loved the music.
By now, it should be apparent that I have a thing for alt-rock that is done with pure-ish instruments—a few guitars, a bass, and a drum does it for me. The EP they released was just that—some melodic rock, with weird but powerful lyrics.
This EP also contained a slow ballad that became really popular, despite the bands name and attitude they faced for it. If SFB was a one-hit wonder, this would be the song.
About a year after, the album was released. It contains some of my most beloved songs, some depressing, some joyful.
One of the songs, Gece (Night) is specifically very familiar to the night I met my significant other, so has a special place in my heart.
Some time after the album they released 4 singles—their sound started to change, but it was still familiar.
They released two more albums after that. I’ve listened to both once, and no songs stuck with me. They’re not bad—just slower than the SFB I liked. And that’s totally OK, because I’ll always have the first albums.
I’m just happy that they still create, and have fun.
I feel like SFB is a bookend for my love of Turkish alt-rock scene. It started with Vega, and ended with Son Feci Bisiklet. The streaming-music era makes it easier to discover new artists, but also makes it very easy to consume them. Being a fan is much harder, and I don’t think I’ll ever get to be a fan of another Turkish alt-rock band, only a casual listener.