Bastille – Doom Days //Bad Steel// (Released 14th June)

Description

£27.99 – Standard LP & DLC

Doom Days, Bastille’s grippingly confident third album, is a record of hope for turbulent times. Made by Dan Smith with bandmates Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris ‘Woody’ Wood, and producer Mark Crew, it sees the Grammy nominated, Brit winning four-piece stretch out and open up like never before. Doom Days marks something of a shift in perception from its widely acclaimed No.1 predecessor Wild World (2016) which confronted the world and the actions of those in power.

Recorded throughout 2018 at the band’s South London studio, Doom Days finds Bastille at their most lyrically provocative, most accomplished, and most vital. It taps into globally felt worries whilst also working on a much more intimate level. Bastille’s unique sound – that cinematic, ever changing odd pop that masks the unusual subject matters and sometimes bleak realities reflected in their lyrics – finds them still evolving and pushing things forward.

Doom Days bustles with energy and ideas. Its diverse sound takes in gospel, house music and R&B to name a few, and incorporates instrumentation inspired by their much-acclaimed Re-Orchestrated tour. The album is at times introspective, intimate, political and also perhaps their most danceable yet, with tracks like “Million Pieces” and “Nocturnal Creatures” built on 90s breakbeats and UK garage hooks. Clever pop culture references, mood-setting dialogue clips and a rolling cast of backing vocalists add textures and voices, and help elevate many of the album’s special moments.

This is a record that celebrates real human connections and urges us to keep searching for moments of elation. It’s an album that starts in the middle of an Uber ride through the city streets and ends waking on the kitchen floor with the healing sounds of euphoric new single “Joy”, which sees the demons of life’s hangovers dispelled by a simple phone call from someone special. “That glimmer of hope at the end of the album says everything” says Dan. “The smallest human gesture can pull you back from the brink”.

To mark the release of Doom Days the band are excited to announce a run of intimate dates throughout the UK supporting local venues in towns and cities away from the usual touring route, including a date at Portsmouth Pyramids Centre. This unique show will give fans the opportunity to experience an ‘apocalyptic party’ club night, warming them up with DJ sets before taking them on a journey through the narrative of the album, which the band will play live from start to finish.

Tracklisting:

1. Quarter Past Midnight
2. Bad Decisions
3. The Waves
4. Divide
5. Million Pieces
6. Doom Days
7. Nocturnal Creatures
8. 4am
9. Another Place
10. Those Nights
11. Joy