Hearing their famously ominous “eh-eh-oh, eh-oh, eh-eh-oh, eh-oh” on the radio is likely how you first encountered the British pop-rock band Bastille. This sound comes from their 2013 hit single “Pompeii” which sparked their worldwide recognition. More recently, Bastille responded to their lyric, “How am I gonna be an optimist about this?” with their 2018 collaboration with Marshmello on “Happier.”
In between the success of “Pompeii” and now, Bastille has created three studio albums titled Bad Blood (2013), Wild World (2016) and Doom Days (2019). Recently, Bastille announced that they are maintaining their three-year album cycle with a new addition. On Oct. 19, Bastille announced online, that their next album, Give Me The Future, is set to be released on Feb. 4 in 2022.
The following day, the official tracklist, composed of 13 songs, was also revealed. The first three songs, “Distorted Light Beam,” “Thelma + Louise” and “No Bad Days,” and their dedicated music videos are already available for viewing. The title track is available for listening as well. The first video involves innovative headpieces that cause users to have blank white eyes and respond to stimulants that cannot be perceived by outsiders, just like virtual reality. This video seems to indirectly nod at the video for “Pompeii,” where the main character tries to dodge those with black eyes but ends up acquiring them. Perhaps there is a connection there on how the effects and probability of dystopias occurring, whether apocalypse-based or technology-based, can only be evaded for so long.
“Thelma + Louise” takes place in a digital space where the characters skydive, jump and explore a pixelated world in the sky. Those scenes are juxtaposed with short clips of the humans behind the characters sitting on the ground using the headpieces depicted in “Distorted Light Beam.” The video for “No Bad Days” is reminiscent of the movies Transcendence starring Johnny Depp and Replicas starring Keanu Reeves, where the main characters attempt to duplicate and revive the lives of loved ones. So, through the images presented in the videos, the main themes presented thus far in this new Bastille era involve the exponentially growing dependence and interactions of humanity with technology, specifically virtual reality, avatars and artificial intelligence.
The lyrics themselves dive into and subtly critique the joy experienced from technology and imagination as opposed to reality. “Give Me The Future” repeats, “Why would we leave, why would we leave? Miles and miles of fake beauty, It’s good for you, it’s good for me, Why would we leave, why would we leave?” and ends with, “Catch a fever dream in the flash of the lights.” “Miles and miles of fake beauty” and “Fever dream in the flash of the lights” may be referring to the bliss that virtual reality can evoke. Other tracks such as “Brave New World” and “Back To The Future” outright allude to famous sci-fi works.
An article by the magazine New Musical Express quoted that Give Me The Future over all is,“‘a tribute to humanity in a tech age and reflects on the strangeness of living through times that can feel like science fiction.’” This sounds somewhat similar to Bastille’s previous album which Dan Smith, Bastille’s front man, deemed an “‘apocalyptic party record.’” Although, the title itself is indicative of a new era since it differs from the alliterative previous ones. Dan Smith addresses why the album was not titled Future Fears in this clip.
Even though it seems like the obsession with technology and “neglect of reality” is already happening, one can hope it does not escalate quickly. If it does though, Bastille may likely capture it with social criticism-driven lyrics and visuals.
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