The
only way you haven’t heard Bastille’s “Pompeii” at this point, is if you have purposely
covered your ears anytime the radio was on. Pompeii is one of the rare songs to
have made it on to all but one of the radio presets in my car (that one being
94.3 The Shark which only plays rock hits). With fair
frequency, Pompeii can be heard emanating from the hit station, light fm, and
everything in between. The song is undeniably strange, exciting, catchy, and so
infectious. On my first listen I didn’t get it. But approximately three minutes
and thirty-four seconds later, on listen number two, I was humming along and
unsuccessfully trying to air drum with the percussion breaks. But who is
Bastille? Does the rest of their repertoire sound like Pompeii? Or, like so
many other one hit wonders, is it the anomaly on the album, and therefore the
only song the masses can sink their teeth into? In comparison to another
current “hit,” I asked the same questions about The Neighbourhood and their
song “Sweater Weather.” I took a chance (as I often do) on their cd and bought
it without hearing much of it, hoping I could get to know and love it before I
attended the concert I won free tickets to. Despite the pop song appeal of
Sweater Weather, the rest of I Love You sounds unfinished, and unfortunately,
very forgettable. I am not biased towards radio friendly music. While I do love
a good pop song, I relish the nuanced complexities of the last quarter of an
album that would never in a hundred years be played on mainstream radio. Unlike
The Neighbourhood, Bastille’s “Bad Blood” is full of solid, polished songs that
can fit under the extremely wide umbrella of alternative. Bad Blood is most unique in the
interesting percussion, and the two and three part harmonies heard throughout
the album. In comparison to Pompeii, songs such as Bad Blood and Things We Lost
in the Fire have a similar synthpop/indie/alternative
feel and just enough quirkiness to be appealing to a variety of people. The
only difference is that the rest of Bad Blood does not have the sheer
infectious catchiness that makes it nearly impossible to avoid singing along
to.
I
was lucky enough to get to see Bastille at Webster Hall in the end of January.
While I can’t give a full review because I missed some of the show, I can give
a few insights. Led by Dan Smith’s unwavering vocals, Bastille put on an
energetic show. Smith has one of the rare voices that sounds slightly better in
real life than it does on the cd, simply because of the raw emotion and
beautiful imperfections in his voice that can’t be conveyed through a computer
or radio. It was easy to tell that Bastille is new to the spotlight. While all
the band members looked comfortable on their respective instruments, Dan Smith
had a quiet humbleness that seemed to represent the band as a whole. On
multiple occasions Smith thanked the audience and expressed how grateful the
band is to be where they are. He also chose to perform one number while walking
through the crowd. He literally went right up to the fans and serenaded them.
Afterwards he proceeded to apologize for his silly dance moves which may not
have been the smoothest, but were definitely endearing. Smith did a fast sway
and hip move during most songs and would jump with the beat at the most crucial
of moments. During all of this he surprisingly didn’t lose any of the quality
of his vocals. What establishes Bastille over all the other synth indie pop
wannabes is their real talent and their fan base. There was an age range of
late teens to thirty or higher in attendance. I can’t say what type of people
attended their concerts across the country, but those at the Webster Hall show
were just of an age that they legitimately like the band as opposed to jumping
onto the newest trending single as many early teens and younger will do. All of
this being said, Bastille has a long way to go before they become the next
Imagine Dragons. They may never have a song as catchy and popular as Pompeii, but
that’s okay. I would personally rather discover an album that takes a few
listens to resonate than one in which I am instantly hooked and potentially get
bored with quickly. Other than a popular single, Bastille has talent and a
solid debut album to back them up. They haven’t let the radio play and
perceived fame go to their heads yet, and hopefully it will stay that way. I am
interested to see what music they will make next, which is more than I can say
for a lot of new bands these days. Dan Smith, keep those goofy dance moves
going.
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| Bastille at Webster Hall (if you couldn't tell, I don't have an iphone) |
