Over the last year, Bastille have been transformed from a little known band into one of the most exciting and hyped groups in the whole of UK music. But whilst so many get radio play for little more than stations appealing to the widest commercial demographics, Bastille have more than just their debut album to prove that they really are worthy of the praise.
It’s actually their online work that won’t be heard by many shows that they’ve got far more than a knack for writing catchy hooks and a top-drawer vocalist in the form of Dan Smith.
Over the last year, the duo of ‘Other People’s Heartache’ EPs that they’ve released for free online have been a show of strength that most other bands have only hinted at in smaller forms. Whilst many aspiring singers are taking to YouTube to perform covers, Bastille did something else than just churn out a reproduction of the originals. They made something truly original and often massively unexpected.
These have proved to be the proof that many needed that Bastille were more than just a one trick pony and were capable of doing something truly special. Who else would start an EP with a mix of an a-cappella version of ‘Adagio For Strings’ and a dramatic version of ‘What Is Love’ with Rihanna sprinkled in at the end.
It’s this ingenuity and ambition that really marks them out from the rest of the pack, as on both of these records they’ve taken songs from all over the musical landscape and morphed them all into something very uniquely Bastille.
Take their recent cover of Bruno Mar’s Locked Out Of Heaven for Radio 1, turning a fun, light tune from Mars into a deep and incredibly romantic song without even breaking a sweat. It’s something that’s shown throughout the album, as the band have a tendency of wielding out unexpected and nearly always pitch perfect flourishes
With Bad Blood, they’ve made good on the prodigious potential the band showed off online and delivered a record that might become one of the highlights of the year in terms of pop, even with it being released this early in the year.
Bad Blood is out Monday March 4th and make sure you check out our Bad Blood review.
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