When discussing who the biggest bands in Britain are at the moment, it is incredibly difficult to leave out Bastille. The band have made an exceptional start to their career with their debut album, 2013’s Bad Blood, selling over 4 million copies and comeback single Good Grief getting record streams in its first week before being certified silver despite only being released in June. Add to that mix the best selling tour by a British act this year (including two stops at London’s O2 as a result of the original date selling out in hours) and one begins to see how much success the band have had in their short career to date. The next step in the bands adventure is their sophomore effort, Wild World. Does this album have the potential to live up to all that the band have achieved?
You bet it does. What this album does from start to finish is that it maintains their core chilled out, uplifting cinematic sound but it also shows constant growth with the band willing to go to darker places and expand the horizons of their sound. First song and the albums first single Good Grief shows this perfectly as the song sounds like Bastille with uplifting choruses but sounds like a more grown up band, not only because the song is about losing someone but because the music is growing. The chorus in this track stands out due to Dan’s captivating vocal delivery, something that is often overlooked in Bastille’s career.
The Current follows this with a strange synth styled into before leading into a basic more stripped down verse with a very catchy vocal melody before launching to a chorus that is much more upbeat and has a tropical kind of drum beat to carry it along. Live crowds will eat this track up come October. Glory as well as the previously released Send Them Off! Come next and show off a much more pop orientated side of the group with the horn section on the latter track sounding especially brilliant. What stands out most about these two tracks is how relevant they sound in today’s musical landscape despite not having any direct comparisons to other artists on the charts. This is a true compliment to the songwriting ability and intelligence of the Bastille and their individual members.
Fake It, another previously released track brings a much more familiar Bastille sound to proceedings with the pop styled uplifting and infectious track showing you exactly why the band have managed to get to where they are today. The track is impossible to dislike and will have even the biggest of sceptics singing along to the huge and catchy chorus where the band passionately deliver one of the biggest sounding moments of the record.
For all of the uplifting and enjoyable moments on this record, I believe the band are at their best when there is a slightly darker and subdued element to their sound. This comes in the form of two tracks, the first being Four Walls (The Ballad Of Perry Smith) and the other being album closer Winter Of Our Youth. The former opens with a drum and keys into before an captivating and passionate vocal performance from Dan drives the song home with such an emotional delivery before the former closes the album on a self reflecting moment on genius. This track is also emotionally driven but in such a way that it is impossible not to get invested into the story. These two tracks keep the Bastille sound but show that the band are capable of so much more than they’ve already given.
All in all, it is very difficult to fault this album. Bastille know exactly how to write songs and have got even better at it on this record. From the emotional delivery and uplifting songs to the more subdued moments, there is a strong amount of growth in the musicianship and songwriting that gives you the feeling that Bastille’s rise is only just getting started.
9/10 – Brilliant songwriting and vocal performance
Highlights – Four Walls (The Ballad Of Perry Smith), Winter Of Our Youth