BΔstille releases 'Wild World'

At first glance the striking artwork for Bastille’s hugely anticipated second album, ‘Wild World’, may prompt a number of questions. Who are the two individuals balanced precariously above a cityscape? Why are they there? What will happen next? But Dan Smith’s own interpretation of the image is one that runs through many of the songs on Wild World, “To me, the image isn’t about what’s just happened or what happens next,” he begins. “It’s not about how they got there or how they get down. It’s about sharing a moment — two friends existing in that split second in that exact space, two people framed in the vast context of this huge mad metropolis that we’ve all built. They’re there out of choice.”

The London four-piece release their hugely anticipated second album, ‘Wild World’ today! The album follows the band’s global four million selling, multi-platinum debut, Bad Blood.

The announcement followed a fever pitch build spearheaded by infectious single ‘Good Grief’, which received an incredible reaction across media and was achieving the most week-one streams ever for an alternative single. The surreal video for the track clocked up over half a million views in just 48 hours and the band’s recent triumphant Glastonbury set drew one of the largest crowds of the weekend and was hailed by the NME as “A masterclass in how to win Glastonbury.”

Wild World retains the vivid, rich, filmic song-writing of its predecessor but pushes the band’s distinctive sound in exciting new directions. Lyrically, too, it’s a leap forward, “If our first album was about growing up and the anxieties surrounding it” Dan explains, “Our second is about trying to make sense of the world around you, both as you see it and as it’s presented to you through the media. It’s also about asking questions of the world and of the people in it. We wanted the album to be a bit disorientating - at times extroverted and introverted, light and dark.”

Written by Dan Smith and co-produced with Bastille fifth member Mark Crew, Wild World was recorded in the same tiny, windowless basement South London studio where the band recorded its predecessor. It's a collection of fourteen songs that sees Bastille at their boldest and most daring. Anthemic yet thought-provoking tracks include the fiery, string-laden, ‘The Currents’, a poignant and timely song that was written about, “Specific public figures on both sides of the Atlantic, and how it can be hard to believe they can think certain thoughts, let alone say them out loud or get on a podium and broadcast them.” As well as the bombastic ‘Send Them Off!’ which boasts the attitude of a classic hip hop song set against the lyrical narrative and insecurities that are part of Bastille’s own DNA, whilst referencing both The Exorcist and Othello. The track exemplifies Dan’s belief in shuffle culture and the end of rigid genre boundaries. There’s also the pensive, stripped back Depeche Mode-esque sound bed for the band’s beautiful album trailer, ‘Two Evils’ which was recorded in one take; As well as the irresistible and rousing ‘Snakes’ and the guitar heavy ‘Blame’, which Dan describes as, “Our first foray into big guitar riffs, in a fictional standoff between two gangsters. ”

BΔSTILLE international highlights

[if !supportLists] [endif]“British band of the year”Sunday Times Culture 2013

[if !supportLists] [endif]Brit Award winner (2014 British Breakthrough)

• 4 x Brit Award nominations
• 2 x Grammy nominations
• 2 x American Music Awards nominations
• TV appearances include SNL, Letterman, Kimmel, Conan, Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr
• 3 million Facebook fans
• 1 million Twitter followers
• 1.5 million Spotify followers
• 5 million monthly users on Spotify (3 years after album released)
• 800 million streams on Spotify
• 500,000 Instagram followers
• 500 million video views
• Pompeii video has 300 million views
• 250 gigs across 6 continents
• Alternative radio Artist Of The Year in America
• Billboard’s No.1 Rock song of 2014
• 12 x No.1s on Hype Machine
• Double Platinum album in the UK
• Double Platinum single in the UK
• 2 million plays on radio globally
• Bad Blood No.1 for 3 weeks in the UK