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| THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: Bad Blood is already one of 2013's best |
Ladies and Gentlemen welcome back to OBWD once more, here we have 'Bad Blood' - the hotly anticipated debut album from South London four-piece Bastille. The band's rise to prominence has been quite unprecedented to say the least, with them first making earth tremors in the music scene in 2011 with their Flaws / Icarus EP, whilst featuring at some of the UK's biggest festivals later that year, it was in 2012 where Bastille began to turn the wheels of their breakthrough from the underworld to the mainstream. We were alerted to to the promising sounds of Bastille upon hearing their lead single 'Bad Blood' back in August of 2012, becoming instant fans of the the boys from thereon.
They later went on to perform at Reading and Leeds in that same year, and 'Flaws' was subsequently released as a successful follow up to 'Bad Blood' and also featured on the UK Singles Chart at a respectable #21, their first UK Top 40 hit. Earlier in January they also released two mixtapes Other People's Heartache Part 1 and Other People's Heartache Part 2 to feed fuel to the fire that was their hype.
They later went on to perform at Reading and Leeds in that same year, and 'Flaws' was subsequently released as a successful follow up to 'Bad Blood' and also featured on the UK Singles Chart at a respectable #21, their first UK Top 40 hit. Earlier in January they also released two mixtapes Other People's Heartache Part 1 and Other People's Heartache Part 2 to feed fuel to the fire that was their hype.
Whilst silently going about their business, being shunned by all the who-to-look-out-for-next-year awards and polls Bastille have become architects of their own hype, strategically releasing quality material to slowly but surely whet the appetites of their fans - and we're definitely inclusive of that group. Greg James made 'Pompeii' his big thing back in January and we kind of thought nothing of it at the time, but since then it appears to have blown up going straight in at #2 last week on the UK Singles Chart, beaten only by Justin Timblerlake's 'Mirrors'
'Bad Blood' has all the ingredients of a solid debut album going straight in with their strongest single 'Pompeii', the band's darker side is soon exposed in 'Things We Lost in the Fire'. 'Bad Blood' is the single that continues the tone, reciting a tale of a life long friendship built on trust and solidarity which is later severed by the forever backtracking human mind. 'Overjoyed' and 'These Streets' follow a similar sound, both are ballads with an emotional epicentre right at the core.
We are later enlightened when we reach 'The Weight of Living', 'Icarus', 'Oblivion' and then we have 'Flaws' a gem of single right in the middle. 'Daniel in the Den' is a piano symphony which descends further into the doldrums once more with a Twin Peaks reference in 'Laura Palmer' and an amicable ending through the final song 'Get Home'. All round as we stated previously, we feel 'Bad Blood' is a solid body of work, which experiments extensively and toys with the genre of 'indie-pop' excessively. We're giving the album the thumbs up, and if you're at a loose end for a new album to play on repeat this week then get hold.
'Bad Blood' has all the ingredients of a solid debut album going straight in with their strongest single 'Pompeii', the band's darker side is soon exposed in 'Things We Lost in the Fire'. 'Bad Blood' is the single that continues the tone, reciting a tale of a life long friendship built on trust and solidarity which is later severed by the forever backtracking human mind. 'Overjoyed' and 'These Streets' follow a similar sound, both are ballads with an emotional epicentre right at the core.
We are later enlightened when we reach 'The Weight of Living', 'Icarus', 'Oblivion' and then we have 'Flaws' a gem of single right in the middle. 'Daniel in the Den' is a piano symphony which descends further into the doldrums once more with a Twin Peaks reference in 'Laura Palmer' and an amicable ending through the final song 'Get Home'. All round as we stated previously, we feel 'Bad Blood' is a solid body of work, which experiments extensively and toys with the genre of 'indie-pop' excessively. We're giving the album the thumbs up, and if you're at a loose end for a new album to play on repeat this week then get hold.
Big hits: 'Pompeii', 'Things We Lost in the Fire', 'Bad Blood', 'These Streets', 'Flaws', 'Laura Palmer'
Score: 8/10
Check out 'Pompeii' by Bastille below if you still need convincing...
