Bastille, an Indie pop band from London, England, has skyrocketed in popularity since the release of their hit single “Pompeii” in 2013, consistently relying on storytelling and themes in the creation of their music. In their debut album, Bad Blood, many songs reflect common stories and references such as the song “Icarus” about the boy who flew too close to the Sun, or “Laura Palmer,” based on the popular show Twin Peaks. Their second album, Wild World, examines the power and glory of the outside world, and how truly terrible, yet how amazingly wonderful life can be.
Their third and most recent album, entitled Doom Days, was released earlier this year, and in spectacular Bastille fashion, marvels at the social and personal issues of 2019.
The theme of this record—as interpreted by the album title—is, quite frankly: the apocalypse.
Each track brings to the table a new emotion, reaction, or interpretation of the end of the world. “Bad Decisions” portrays someone chasing highs before the world ends, while “4AM” describes the feeling of being at peace with your loved ones. The title track “Doom Days” incorporates the most direct references to 2019: phone addiction, communicating via the internet and social media, and avoiding responsibilities and the outside world.
This album succeeds in characterizing 2019 as a mixture of bad decisions, joy, hedonism, and escapism. Every song makes you feel like the apocalypse is closer now than ever before, whether it be through nuclear warfare, plague, environmental catastrophe, artificial intelligence, or the prophesied Armageddon.
Bastille depicts many different personalities throughout this album—some that make us feel like we’re running out of time, and others that make us feel indestructible. It begs the question—which one are you? How would you act if the world was ending?
Here’s some of the best lyrics from this album:
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“And if we’re going down in flames \ Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made.” -Bad Decisions
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“If it’s gonna break me, won’t you let me go? \ Leave it till the morning, I don’t wanna know.” -Million Pieces
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“You try to get to heaven on a night like this \ But you, you never get to heaven on a night like this.” -Those Nights
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“We’ll be the proud remainers \ Here till the morning breaks us \ We run away from real life thoughts tonight.” -Doom Days
“Don’t paint wonderful lies on me that wash away \ We only ever wanted one thing from this.” -Another Place