By Allison Christensen
Cardinal Staff
Hailing from South London, England, Bastille is an indie pop band with their debut album, “Bad Blood,” reaching the top of the UK charts when it was released March 4, while the single “Pompeii” reached the No. 2 spot.
Consisting of Dan Smith, Chris “Woody” Wood, Will Farquarson and Kyle Simmons, Bastille has toured Europe with popular groups such as Two Door Cinema Club and Emeli Sandé. Their song “Oblivion” was featured in Season 4 of “The Vampire Diaries.”
Bastille’s driving beats, smooth vocals and chanted choruses are similar to that of the recent breakthrough-band Imagine Dragons. The thing that makes Bastille stand apart is Smith’s use of the piano, which has become uncommon to hear in pop music today. Lively piano notes weaving in and out of the music add vibrancy to every song on the “Bad Blood” album.
Another interesting fact about Bastille is that they don’t use a guitar. Smith can’t play guitar, so he and Producer Mark Crew challenged themselves to create an album that feels like a big, upbeat guitar record without using a guitar.
“Rather than using guitars or distortion, we used interesting key noises, layering up choirs of myself, big string arrangements and being as creative as possible with beats,” said Smith.
Bastille’s “Bad Blood” is truly a unique sound and well worth a trip to YouTube for a listen. The album is not available in MP3 format in the U.S. yet, but the CD can be purchased on Amazon. Visit www.bastillebastille.com or follow Bastille on Facebook to keep up with new releases and tour dates.
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