Bastille’s “Wild World” Album Review

Cassandra Augstein

For the Clock

ctaugstein@plymouth.edu

Looking for a new indie album to be obsessed with? Look no further than “Wild World” by the British indie pop band Bastille. “Wild World” was released on Sept. 9 . It is Bastille’s second studio-recorded album. The standard edition soundtrack consists of 14 songs, while the complete edition consists of 19. The lead song is “Good Grief”, which was also released as a single June 16.

Bastille’s first album, “Bad Blood”, aired on the side of safety. Released Sept. 3, 2013, they seemed as though they were pandering to the public to gain a wider audience than they already had. The music in their first album almost seemed to fit in a little box of indie pop perfection.

“Wild World” is much different. “Because the first album was initially a bedroom project and I couldn't play guitar at the time, there were no guitars on it,” singer and leader of the band Dan Smith said during an interview with NME.

The band incorporates many more sounds and effects into this album. Throughout the entire album, there are many different voices that sometimes open or close a song. Two particular voices seem quite detached from feeling. The voices are mostly monotone, which offers an air of mystery to each song they accompany.

“Good Grief” opens with one of those voices. The woman’s voice says “So what would you little maniacs like to do first?” The voice says it in a commanding manor, as if she is a parent or watching young children, ready to engage in some activity. The music itself is quite upbeat, while the lyrics are dark and brooding. The song is about dealing with the loss of someone and how to go on in the world without them.

The fourth track, “Warmth”, opens with voices as well, but these are of reporters from the video “The News Media’s Coverage of Crime and Victimization”. This song was the inspiration for the album’s title, which shows just how unique this band is. Most bands put the song that inspired the title first, not fourth. This track is about how crazy and bad this world really is, and how people are all just looking for someone to get them through this wild, wild world.

These are just two of the tracks on this amazing album. It is definitely worth a listen or two.

Bastille has launched their schedule for the “Wild World” world tour beginning in 2017. Tickets go public Oct. 7.