The multi-platinum-selling Bastille is back with a very special project: a concept album. Their first album since 2022’s Give Me The Future; this new venture is not their first try at a concept album because 2019’s Doom Days also fell into this category. With that in mind, this time around, the band is expanding the idea further with four parts acting like scenes in a play. These are all story/character-driven songs that Vocalist Dan Smith has collected over the years and turned into music. Furthermore, it is said that these ideas are inspired by historical and fictional figures from all over the globe. For example, there are songs about the revolutionary internal life of 19th-century Poet Emily Dickinson, the Nobel-winning Scientist Marie Curie, an 18th-century French opera singer who became a wanted criminal, and more.
Fascinating, all four parts come together on the album “&” (Ampersand), which was officially released on October 25, 2024. And in case fans are curious, the ampersand in the title stands for the connection of stories in each song and all songs as a whole.
These are ideas that clearly require deep thought; before we dive into it all, let me recap a bit of Bastille’s own history. Formed in London, England, back in 2010, the band (Vocalist/Pianist/Guitarist Dan Smith, Keyboardist Kyle Simmons, Bassist Will Farquarson, and Drummer Chris Wood) released their debut album, Bad Blood, in 2013 with massive success. Anchored by the huge hit “Pompeii,” Bastille built on this, touring all over the world and steadily building an international fanbase. These factors resulted in winning the British Breakthrough Act award in 2014. In 2016, they released Wild World; in 2019, they released Doom Days; and in 2022, they released Give Me The Future.
Continuing to grow as a band and sustain themselves as a recognized force with their music featured in films, commercials, and more, Bastille seems to have wanted to push the envelope a bit more this time around. With“&,” their fifth studio album, it is commendable that the band is not just playing it safe.
Featuring fourteen songs, or rather stories, “&” edges out as their longest album in terms of runtime to date; each song comes with beautiful arrangements and soft melodies. This is while they are led by tales that are absolutely worth listening to as the colorful instrumentation surrounds you. Feeling like a movie, these stories dig deep underneath your skin and stay there long after the album ends. Almost guaranteed, there are tracks like “The Sopranos & Midnight Wonderings,” which feature the black artist BIM, and her voice is beautiful and exceptionally strong. There are cuts like “Blue Sky & The Painter,” “Drawbridge & The Baroness,” and “Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze,” which all have unique tones.
Overall, “&” is a brilliant, absolutely stunning album. You need to listen to it yourself to truly understand the work put in. The arrangements are timeless, and the plotlines are deeply considered, all making for a wonderful piece of art. Offering something new with each passing listen, Cryptic Rock gives “&” 5 out of 5 stars.
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