Music

Album of the Week: Bastille

Delve inside the indie-pop band's third studio album, Doom Days.

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There’s something unique and quite inventive about Bastille’s third studio album, a concept record which follows a rather colourful house party, while simultaneously reflecting on the horrible state of the world.

Vocalist and primary songwriter Dan Smith has stated the songs were inspired by themes of hope, escapism and the importance of close friendships amongst other things.

Made up of Smith, Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris Wood, Bastille formed in 2010. They released their debut album Bad Blood in 2013, which featured their colossal multi-platinum hit Pompei and cemented them as indie-pop icons.

2016’s Wild World followed, giving them their second No. 1 album in the UK charts.

Doom Days’ opener Quarter Past Midnight sets the scene for the whole record. It’s descriptive and catchy, with a chorus certain to fill any indie-club dancefloor.

Divide is a powerful pop ballad, with a nice bit of a cappella in the middle, while Million Pieces continues the same line of upbeat optimism and dancey melody.

The synonymous track Doom Days tackles feelings of anxiety caused by social issues, like environmental damage, social media and more.
Smith stated in an email sent to fans, “We wanted [the song] to be really direct and talk about trying to find escapism from our modern anxieties – phone addiction, porn addiction, fake news addiction, climate change denial (to name a few)…”

Perfect for crowd chanting Nocturnal Creatures is full of woah-ohs and Another Place is preppy and poppy with heavy bass lines and catchy hooks.

Bastille - Those Nights (Official Music Video)

4AM has a serenity to it… a sleepy, emotive ballad, in which Dan professes “Here here my family, here, here you’re my familiar, here, here my friends and me…” and “There is nowhere else I’d rather be woah-oh”.

Joy, as you might expect, is the most vibrant and optimistic track on the record – it makes you feel instantly happy.

The “party” shifts from themes of emotional chaos and carelessness to carefree euphoria and boy, does it sound good.

While the record might be a little darker than its predecessors, there’s plenty of positives, stadium-filling tunes and hopeful ambition.

See the London four-piece across UK festivals this summer, including Citadel this July. The band will also take their Doom Days Club Nights on the road in November and December 2019. [Find Tickets]


Tracklisting:
1. Quarter Past Midnight
2. Bad Decisions
3. The Waves
4. Divide
5. Million Pieces
6. Doom Days
7. Nocturnal Creatures
8. 4AM
9. Another Place
10. Those Nights
11. Joy


Listen to Doom Days on Spotify: