Clayton Walker

Staff Reporter

Bastille is a four-member pop band from London, England. They recently finished recording their first album, Bad Blood, with limited equipment; however, they recorded the stringed instruments in Abbey Road Studios (where The Beatles recorded most of their music).

The studio’s luck may have rubbed off on Bastille because three of their singles hit the top 100 charts in England. Bad Blood has also hit more than a quarter of a million sales, after being released in March of 2013.

Listening to the album, the first thing that came to mind was, “This is the soundtrack to a teenage girl’s summer.” What makes Bastille stand out from other bands is the heavy reliance on the synthesizer. Every song uses it in a different way, yet without it, they may as well change the band’s name.

Dan Smith (vocals) has a voice that stands out in a crowd. Unlike most other European bands that have impacted America (The Rolling Stones, Motorhead, Coldplay) the accent is strong in Smith’s vocals. There is not one song where his accent is undetectable.

The opening song “Pompeii” starts the album in a serious way. In the chorus there is a booming background vocal that make the song feel as if the, “Walls keep tumbling down”, as the song states, and it is a bit overwhelming. The song has a very popesque feel that could easily be stuck in your head with one too many listens.

When I listened to the song “Bad Blood” for some reason I felt that this song belonged on a movie soundtrack when the main character gets depressed with, “I don’t want to talk about it” repeated over and over. It has an eerie, depressing feeling to it, yet the synthesizers keep the mood upbeat at the same time creating a unique sound.

Possibly the best song on the album is “Weight of Living, Pt. II.” The lyrical content describes a desires that everyone has felt once or twice, “When you were a child all you desired was to be old…Now that you are here you have lost all control.” Smith sings with emotion that just flows along with the synthesizers. Just try and listen to this song and not feel a little relieved afterwards.

Bastille’s Bad Blood is a great album within its genre (pop), and I am sure that thousands of teenage girls are already in love with the band. Bastille knew what they were doing, which is surprising because it is their debut effort. Personally Bad Blood is not my style; however, I could see that talented musicians were the driving force behind it.

I will give the album two and a half stars out of five. If you are looking for something different in your music library, then buy Bastille’s Bad Blood.

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Wayne Thallander

Clayton Walker, junior