Bastille may have been a dominant presence on YouTube for a while, but the release of their debut album “Bad Blood” signals the commercial success that has seemed inevitable to those of us who have already encountered this British band. With songs featured in both Hollyoaks and Made in Chelsea it was only a matter of time before this foursome hit the big time. Whilst their appeal to the masses means it was a sure thing that they would reach the top ten with single releases such as “Flaws” (which incidentally gained number 2 in the charts beaten only by Justin Timberlake no less) many critics have been left scratching their heads trying to place Bastille into a musical genre.
As NME have quoted “Bastille want everyone to like them”, they go as far as to compare YouTube hit Pompeii, which got over half a million views, with the “cliff edge” epics of Arcade fire and state that , my personal favourite, Overjoyed appeals to “Coldplay mass-emotional armies”. Mass emotional or not is it really that bad a thing to be compared to a multi-platinum selling band that has helped to revive the reputation of Great British music? With the music industry these days seemingly more preoccupied with albums sales than album quality, I personally feel it is refreshing to listen to an album that offers a variety in sound rather than sticking to a fail-safe template of rhythms and style in order to churn out yet another album, that equals yet another world tour, and consequently more big bucks for the big shot record labels.
Bad Blood manages to combine a mixture of what can only be described as catchy pop tunes (not that that label takes anything away from their musical credit) such as “things we lost in the fire”, “Flaws” and “Pompeii” with haunting ballads and emotionally perceptive lyrics in “Overjoyed” and “Oblivion”. Pompeii manages to gage the right mixture of docile verses with upbeat catchy verses, combined with emotive backing vocals, to give it the right amount of oomph to have it stuck in your head after one listen, whether you like it or not. Whilst flaws may be criticised for its electro feel its chart success along with its instantly relatable lyrics (which can also be said for the title track Bad Blood) seem to outweigh this slight criticism. To be honest its catchy synths are a pleasant change to the somewhat bland monotone tendencies of some self- coined “indie-pop” bands.
When they do decide to go for a more chilled approach compared to those songs mentioned above, along with other tracks such as Icarus (which I love for its Greek classical references, not to mention its almost gospel-esque chorus thanks, yet again, to its use of harmonies) , they manage to bring something fresh that stops them from bordering on mundane. Some may roll their eyes at the mention of a stereotypical ballad but songs such as Oblivion demonstrate the talent of lead vocalist of Dan Smith. The tune consists mostly of the front man’s vocals a piano and, as is a consistent feature throughout the album, some killer lyrics that you can’t help but identify with in some way or another.
Some may have criticised Bad Blood for its lack of a coherent vision and its apparent inability to fit into a single genre. But, in my opinion, this only goes to enhance the band’s debut album as it provides a musical soundtrack to everyday life, one which encapsulates the ever shifting emotions of human emotion and provides narratives for each of these through this smash hit of an album.
Photocredits: nme.com