by Hannah Herring

Back in September of 2013, the rising alternative band, Bastille, released their debut album Bad Blood, which sailed to the top of the charts. “Pompeii” helped fuel this band’s success, reaching No.1 on the Official Songs chart and selling over 3 million copies worldwide. Their No.1 hit not only won the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Rock Song, in 2014, but was a major contributor to the band’s Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in the same year.

On September 9th, 2016, Bastille released their second album Wild World, which has already received a five-star rating. The album cover depicts two individuals sitting on a ledge over a cityscape, unbound to the world below them. Not only is the album cover aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but the ambiguousness of what it symbolizes leaves the audience open to hearing the music. Although the cover art is great, does this new album compare with the last?

Wild World begins with “Good Grief” as the opening track. The wide range of instruments, especially the xylophone, give off an upbeat and bubbly sound. “An Act of Kindness” brings character into the album, since it focuses more on vocals in the beginning, but quickly transforms into a techno sound as the song progresses. The lyrics in this song portray a man recalling memories of a helpful hand during a time of trouble. Track seven, “Two Evils”, is more monochromatic, which brings diversity to the album as a whole. This song is so genuine and heartfelt, a taste which should be shared more often in the album. “Fake it” contains repetitive lyrics and a simple rhythm, making the cadence of this track one which can be heard over and over again. Ariel Allison, a sophomore here at Dorman, said, “I enjoyed this song. I played it a couple of different times because it was so catchy. I would definitely recommend it to my friends.” Track seventeen, “Campus”, is a stereotypical pop/indie song where the lead singer mixes spoken words into the track to add texture and diversity. Although many artists are pushing boundaries and experimenting with different sounds, this was not an effective way to give the album musicality.

“Anchor”, which is track nineteen, is an interesting song because it incorporates many tempo changes, keeping the audience entertained. Since this is the last song in the album, the title could not be more appropriate. An anchor holds something down, keeping it from swaying or changing . Being the concluding track, “Anchor” should be the song the audience remembers. Because of its progressiveness, this song reaches the standards set for the final track of any album. Although the audience’s expectations were set extremely high, Bastille’s new sound has surpassed the limit, leading them into new territory for further success.