另一种味道的BAD BLOOD
88 | 专辑 |Bad Blood · BΔSTILLE · Rock
ON BAD BLOOD, BASTILLE GAVE US SEVERAL HITS, SEVERAL RIDDLES AND SEVERAL DEPRESSING LINES WITH A NOT SO CONVINCING DELIVERY, BUT THE TONE OF THE ALBUM WAS REFREASHING IN A WEIRD WAY.
As an alternative-rock band, Bastille started their music career with a mixtape <On Other People*s Heartache pt.1>, which features several covers and rearrangements of Lana Del Rey*s <Blue Jeans>, Haddaway*s <WhatIs Love>, David Guetta*s <Titanium> and more.
The mixtape received certain recognition from UK, the birthplace of the band*s leader, Dan Smith. Dan*s role in Bastille is like Roger Waters in Pink Floyd, nearly all songs are written and produced by him. Dan*s friend Mark Crew is also very active, the commercial success<Pompeii> topped 2 at the UK charts and No. 5 at Billboard, being their most successful single to date, <Pompeii> is track1 of Bad Blood, it starts with a chanting voice (reverbed) from Dan, the chanting created a solemn and sorrowful atmosphere for the album, after the intro, the plot of <Pompeii> unfolded as the lyrics said ‘And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love/Grey clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above*, these lines showed the catastrophic scene of the eruption of Vesuvius volcano that destroyed Pompeii city. Dan wrote this song as he was in great despair of his career, the music video of <Pompeii> also showed the desperation as Dan*s eyes turned black.
However, Bastille went famous after the release of the single and <Bad Blood> itself received the nomination of BRIT awards, in <BadBlood>, there*re also several hits like <Flaws> and track2 <ThingsWe Lost In The Fire>, TWLIT is more cohesive than <Pompeii>, or it*s safe to say, except <Pompeii>, every song in <Bad Blood> can probably the most cohesive sounds you*ve ever heard. TWLIT continues the epic feel from <Pompeii> with string arrangements, it gives people a weird kind of hope, the hope that reminds you that something is forever gone and the only way is to look forward.
BUT the following track BAD BLOOD, the title track suddenly drag listeners into a deep hole of regret, despite the UNFROTUNATE (for Bastille it is unfortunate) hit of Taylor*s bad blood, the rays of light by BAD BLOOD won*t dim out. BAD BLOOD features wrecked vocals spinning around like it is played from an old TV and that*s goodin creating a shabby atmosphere.
On the next few tracks, Bastille showed us their ability to catchpeople*s ears, you can imagine yourself wandering in the dark night in <Oblivion> although it falls short in front of Grimes* Oblivion, it seems that they had taken the synthesizer*s part to <Weight of Living Pt.Ⅱ >. If you can*t handle the clutter of Pt.Ⅱ, Bastille is caring enough to put a hidden track Pt.Ⅰinside the album, there*s a metaphor in Pt.Ⅰ: ‘There*s an albatross around your neck/All the things you*ve said and the things you*ve done*. Albatross is a bird that can survive well in stormy weather but will suffer from a peaceful sea, you may associate this line with Pink Floyd ‘Desperate is the English way*,well, Dan is literally English, so that*s fine.
Besides several quotes from the Bible in <Daniel in The Dan>and the Greek mythology in <Icarus> to deepen the mysterious atmosphere and show the wit of Dan, the ending tracks do give us surprises, on <LauraPalmer>, the inspiration was drawn from the TV series TWIN PEAKS, the blunt drums draw us back to the fact that Bastille is still a rock band, and the bridge is appealing whether or not you have the experience to get into THAT SITUATION, the music video is, of course, very cultic enough to follow the series* style. On <Get Home>, the outro of the sad monologue, Bastille painted a lonesome valley as you hear Dan sings about the bird mocking and cursing a homecoming person who had survived the pressure or hardships life had given him, but that*s LIFE right?
WE ALL HAVE A POMPEII INSIDE WAITING FOR THE VOLCANO TO DEVOUR BUT THERE*S STILL HOPE.