Bastille is the brain-child of
Londoner Dan Smith and was, until recently, a solo project. When Smith enlisted
the help of three friends in order to take his music on the road, Bastille became
a four-piece who recently signed to Virgin and seem to have the ‘next big
thing’ label hanging around their necks. It’s not without merit, however, as Bad Blood has already received a lot of
airplay after being added to Radio 1’s ‘In New Music We Trust’ playlist.
Admittedly, when I first sat down
to listen to this I was sceptical. I thought it would just be another group of
po-faced indie boys experimenting with synths. Damn if this tune didn’t grow on
me, and how! I was walking around work today humming it out loud and it’s not
often that happens to me with new tracks. There’s a lot going on in this
deceptive wee tune. At first there’s almost a reggae rhythm to Bad Blood before Smith’s vocals kick in, and then there are synths, and by the time the chorus kicks in with its layered
vocals we find Bastille bridging the gap between the recent trend in
‘chillwave’ flecked indie-electro and a very definite 80’s pop a la Pet
Shop Boys. The wash of the whole thing perfectly frames a poignant
tale of a friendship gone wrong. Sure, it ends a little abruptly, but if this
is a sign of things to come then maybe the band can stay on the road to a
bigger, better future.
Bad Blood by Bastille is out now via Virgin Records.
LD
No comments:
Post a Comment