Tag: Album Review

  • Billie Eilish: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT and the Value of Authenticity

    Billie Eilish: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT and the Value of Authenticity

    Billie Eilish, a household name at just 23 years old, has been writing and producing music with her brother, Finneas, for 10 years now. They have rapidly risen to fame since ‘Ocean Eyes’ was released on Soundcloud in 2015, mesmerising listeners with their unique, often dark, musical style and Billie’s delicate yet powerful vocals. Their latest album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, released in May 2024, is undoubtedly my favourite of theirs so far. It is varied and emotive, with catchy melodies and beautiful music. I believe there are factors beyond the music that draw so many people to Billie, however, namely, her appearance as a genuine, relatable and authentic individual, rather than an untouchable celebrity.

    The siblings have seen great success so far, and their latest album has not let them down. Over their musical career, they have won a dazzling array of accolades, including nine Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and many more, and Billie is the first person born in the 21st Century to win an Academy Award, an incredible achievement. Her voice has been called “ethereal” (Stone, 2017) with a “beautiful and fragile timbre” (Pentreath, 2024), and several have argued that HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is her “best album yet” (Martoccio, 2024). Brown (2024) calls it “a record that whispers its way through a marvellous maze of music to deliver some big emotional wallops.” 

    alt=”billie eilish and finneas performing in Oslo together"
    Premeditated, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    I have to admit I played this album on repeat when it first came out! It is sensitive, heartfelt and bold, weaving through a variety of moods, from the flirty and provocative ‘LUNCH’, to the delicate and restrained ‘WILDFLOWER’.

    Some other stand-out moments for me are the cheeky and sarcastic first half of ‘L’AMOUR DE MA VIE’, with its catchy melody and Billie’s effortless and perfectly satisfying vocal runs, and ‘CHIHIRO’, a song with many layers, building from controlled intensity to unleashed desperation. This track is particularly addictive, with its cool, atmospheric bassline (a feature which Finneas has mastered throughout this album and is one of my favourite elements – you can’t beat a catchy, prominent bassline in my opinion!) and the way the beat occasionally cuts out adds tension and drama.

    The final track, ‘BLUE’, ties together the whole album by subtly linking back to previous songs in the album. For example, its melody is introduced at the end of the previous song, ‘BITTERSUITE’, which the line ‘I’m still overseas’ also references; ‘I thought we were the same / Birds of a feather’ is an echo of the track ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’; and ‘I told you a lie, désolé, mon amour’ hints at ‘L’AMOUR DE MA VIE’. I like the sense of coherence this creates in the album – it makes it seem like a journey through a labyrinth of emotions, culminating in this final track.

    Finneas’ masterful production helps make this array of emotions come alive, with music that conveys the meaning of the lyrics, such as the flirty bassline accompanying the mischievous lyrics in ‘LUNCH’, or the dramatic strings and drum crashes in the climax of ‘THE GREATEST’, intensifying the feeling of desperation and anger.

    Some critics have been slightly less complimentary, however. For example, Fantano (2024) describes it as “safer” and “taking less risks than her previous albums”, and Jocelyn (2024) claims that “the insistence on multipart epics and ballads kills the momentum.”

    Whilst I don’t necessarily agree with these specific points, I do believe there are some slightly weaker moments in the album. For example, despite it being an incredibly successful single (reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100, being the most streamed song on Spotify in 2024 and receiving three Grammy nominations in 2025), I don’t think ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ has quite the same depth, complexity or emotional range as some of the others, and although it has a sweet melody, it doesn’t draw me in as much.

    Furthermore, the first half of ‘L’AMOUR DE MA VIE’ is catchy and understated, but the second half, which switches style completely, featuring blaring synths, an electronic drum beat and heavily auto-tuned vocals, doesn’t add much to the song in my opinion. The contrast is unexpected and I like that they have experimented with structure and style, however, I think the first half would have been a great song as it was. Regardless, the album as a whole is varied and has many great tracks, and the success Billie and Finneas have seen so far must count for something!

    In fact, I wanted to explore more deeply why audiences have connected with Billie and her music to such an extent. It seems that her apparent honesty and authenticity are a big factor. As Billie explained in an interview with Fadel and Harrell for NPR (2024) that,

    “for [HIT ME HARD AND SOFT], I finally got over the need to prove everyone wrong… it was about expressing myself,”

    and that “you should just be as vulnerable as you can without thinking about how people are going to hear it, and then go from there.” In a similar vein, Finneas told Codinha for Vogue (2024), “the thing that was really important to me was really pushing Billie to be honest.”

    alt="billie eilish performing on her when we all fall asleep tour"
    Julio Enriquez from Denver,CO, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    I think they have succeeded. Listening to the album, it doesn’t feel like they are trying to be something they’re not – it sounds like they simply sat down together and experimented with Billie’s vocals and different instruments. As Finneas told Martoccio (2024),

    “This album was an exploration of what we do best.”

    They have tackled some deeply personal and sensitive topics in the album, too, such as ‘SKINNY’, where Billie gently sings, ‘People say I look happy / Just because I got skinny’ (more on the pressure she has faced for her body image later); the disconcerting ‘THE DINER’, where she sings from the point of view of a stalker – particularly eery as Billie herself has been on the receiving end; and the heartfelt and emotional tone in her voice in ‘BLUE’ when she sings ‘I’d like to mean it when I say I’m over you / But that’s still not true’. Millar (2025) notes, “Her music mirrors the struggles of her generation: mental health, identity, and the pressures of growing up in a digital age,” and this  transparency is what has drawn so many fans to the artist, making her a very relatable figure.

    alt="the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour, 2025"
    Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, Manchester 2025

    Similarly, when I was lucky enough to see Billie perform live in Manchester in July (I am still dreaming back to that night!) I got the impression that I was watching a down-to-earth human, rather than an “untouchable celebrity” (Millar, 2025). It wasn’t pretentious: there were minimal special effects on the stage and Billie captured the audience purely with her mesmerising voice and masterful stage presence, and she genuinely appeared to be having fun, which was contagious! This comes across in interviews, too; she doesn’t seem to be trying to impress anyone, she is just being herself, and this is so nice to see in an artist.

    That Billie seems to have stayed true to herself amidst the pressures of fame, particularly at such a young age, is truly inspiring – she is only a year older than me, and I can’t even comprehend being in her position! As she has recounted in many interviews, however, it was by no means easy, and I can’t help feeling for her. She explained to Fadel and Harrell (2024) that,

    “It was a lot, and it still is a lot. Every day I struggle with figuring myself out. Instead of just getting to feel how it feels to learn something about myself, I have to hear about what everyone else thinks about it.”

    Especially with today’s ubiquitous and often suffocating presence of social media, Billie has struggled with the fact that “the world can see every aspect of your life and reminisce about [it]. It’s so weird” (interview with Lancaster, 2021). She has sadly suffered from depression in the midst of her fame, telling Gayle King in 2020 that “I was so unhappy last year… I was so joyless,” and that “I genuinely didn’t think I would make it to 17” (cited in Wong, 2020). 

    The scrutiny that Billie faces is the reason that she has concealed her body in baggy clothing (still looking incredibly cool whilst doing it!) for lots of her career. She is acutely aware of how her body could be used as a source of judgement like it unfortunately is for so many men and women in the public eye. Celebrities, particularly women, are increasingly sexualised – whether this is a message of empowerment or pressure from labels to boost sales is a debate for another time. 

    alt="Billie Eilish's baggy clothing style"
    the CwE, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Even in baggy clothing, Billie hasn’t escaped scrutiny for her appearance. As she stated in the voiceover to her short film, NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY, shown at her 2020 world tour, “Some people hate what I wear / Some people praise it / Some people use it to shame others / Some people use it to shame me.” As Fitzgerald (2021) highlights, this is a wider societal issue: “The media bombards us with the message that happiness, self-esteem, and a positive image of ourselves is a reward for having ideal bodies.” Billie responds, saying, “Let’s turn it around and be empowered in that… Showing your body and showing your skin — or not — should not take any respect away from you” (cited, ibid.). This is a powerful message that she is sending, making it no surprise that she has been called “a force, a positive influence to a generation raised on social media” (Pippa Haupt, cited, ibid.). Her resilience and honesty must truly be applauded, and it inspires me, as I’m sure it does many others. 

    A highly talented artist and dynamic personality, Billie is an inspiring role model, particularly for young girls, for her rejection and resistance against what the public eye and, on a more relatable level, society, expects of her. She also serves as an important reminder that celebrities are merely human, and as audiences, fans or critics, we should perhaps treat them more gently and not expect quite so much from them all the time. 

    Brown, H. (2024) Billie Eilish review, Hit Me Hard and Soft: Pop star whispers her way to big emotional wallops. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/billie-eilish-hit-me-hard-and-soft-review-b2546074.html. (Accessed 22 Sep 2025). 

    Codinha, A. (2024) Billie Eilish Has Grown Up. https://www.vogue.com/article/billie-eilish-november-2024-cover-interview. (Accessed 5 Sep 2025). 

    Fadel, L. & Harrell, P. (2024) Billie Eilish finally remembers who she is. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/17/1251790138/billie-eilish-finneas-hit-me-hard-and-soft-interview. (Accessed 4 Sep 2025).  

    Fantano (2024) Billie Eilish – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. https://theneedledrop.com/album-reviews/billie-eilish-hit-me-hard-and-soft-album-review/. (Accessed 5 Sep 2025).  

    Fitzgerald, R. (2021) Billie Eilish’s Vogue cover lays bare the hypocrisy of a culture that is killing women. https://medium.com/the-glitter-gold/billie-eilishs-vogue-cover-lays-bare-the-hypocrisy-of-a-culture-that-is-killing-women-7a80870c7ec0. (Accessed 6 Sep 2025). 

    Jocelyn, H. (2024) HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/billie-eilish-hit-me-hard-and-soft/. (Accessed 5 Sep 2025).  

    Lancaster, B. (2021) Billie Eilish on her complicated relationship with the internet, the price of fame and the “new Billie”. https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/billie-eilish-on-her-complicated-relationship-with-the-internet-the-price-of-fame-and-the-new-billie/news-story/1c6e34914c93e17dd7299a8bd9aa1b5c. (Accessed 7 Sep 2025).  

    Martoccio, A. (2024) Billie Eilish Would Like to Reintroduce Herself. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/billie-eilish-hit-me-hard-and-soft-mental-health-fame-1235003585/. (Accessed 4 Sep 2025). 

    Millar, M. (2025) The Billie Eilish phenomenon: Why she’s so popular. https://www.xsnoize.com/the-billie-eilish-phenomenon-why-shes-so-popular/. (Accessed 7 Sep 2025). 

    Pentreath, R. (2024) How good is Billie Eilish’s singing voice, from a classical music perspective?. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/billie-eilish-voice-analysis-classical-perspective/. (Accessed 4 Sep 2025). 

    Stone, A. (2017) Watch Billie Eilish Set Fire to a Bad Relationship in New Video for “watch”. https://www.vice.com/en/article/watch-billie-eilish-set-fire-to-a-bad-relationship-in-new-video-for-watch/. (Accessed: 4 Sep 2025).

    Wong, C. M. (2020) Billie Eilish On Mental Health: ‘I Didn’t Think I Would Make It To 17’. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/billie-eilish-mental-health-gayle-king_n_5e2af414c5b6d6767fd2c89c. (Accessed 25 Sep 2025). 

  • Benson Boone ‘American Heart’ and the TikTok Effect

    Benson Boone ‘American Heart’ and the TikTok Effect

    My rating: 5/10


    Benson Boone is a 23-year-old American singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2024 from his viral song, ‘Beautiful Things’ and is known for his flamboyant on-stage backflips. After pulling out of the talent show American Idol in 2021, Boone gained traction on TikTok and now has over 9 million followers, released two studio albums, and later this year will undertake his world tour, already having performed at the GRAMMYs, Coachella and Saturday Night Live, to name a few. What piqued my interest in this album were the mixed reviews it has so far received: Rolling Stone and NME have both rated it 2 out of 5 stars, for example.1 After the success Boone has seen up to this point, I wanted to investigate for myself why this doesn’t seem to have continued. What this ultimately led me to was the implications of TikTok and the way that the streaming platform has impacted the music industry, with the effect of potentially bringing artists rapid and intense fame before they are due/ready for it. 

    Warner Records, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons


    The songs are promising but feel like they’re missing something or are not quite there yet. Often I am hooked by the verse, but then left slightly underwhelmed with the chorus. For example, ‘Man In Me’ begins with a funky beat and unusual dissonant “la’s”, but the chorus is not as catchy or snappy. Similarly, the groovy verse of ‘Mystical Magical’ is let down by the chorus which is repetitive and with interpolations of ‘Physical’ (1981) by Olivia Newton-John, is slightly unimaginative. The pattern continues with ‘Reminds Me Of You’, which begins with a dreamy atmosphere but leads into a simplistic chorus. 


    Furthermore, the structure is sometimes unclear, such as ‘Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else’, which feels cut short by a new tune at the end which seems a bit random and sounds as if it should be a bridge (the song is only 2:36 minutes). ‘Mr Electric Blue’ also has a sudden calmer moment after the first chorus which for the listener is unclear as to whether it is a bridge or transition section. This returns after the second chorus and instead of the song carrying on as might be expected, it abruptly ends. This also happens in ‘Wanted Man’, in which after just two choruses we are met with a bridge-sounding section which builds in tension as if it is leading into something else; instead, it reaches a dead end and the song finishes. These songs have potential, but there are still lots of areas to improve.


    Boone doesn’t seem to have found his own voice yet, and I wonder if he’s trying to be something he’s not. ‘Reminds Me Of You’ is remarkably similar to ‘deja vu’ and the bridge of ‘drivers license’ by Olivia Rodrigo; the melody, beat, and style of the lyrics are very similar. ‘I Wanna Be The One You Call’ is one of the tracks I prefer on the album, but ironically, it reminds me of songs I already like, namely, the beat and muffled harmonies of ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles and ‘Stuck With Me’ by the Neighbourhood. The lyrics are also quite basic and simple. For example, “you can feel like / Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans / Dancing at the movies, ‘cause it feels so Mystical, Magical” in ‘Mystical Magical’ lacks depth and doesn’t make much sense. One positive is that the songs are varied, with differing styles and instrumentation, however, I’m not sure what’s connecting them. There is not much coherence as an album, with no common themes or messages. There are some promising moments, however; as I noted above, I like many of the verses (just not the choruses), and I rate ‘Young American Heart’, which has an upbeat chorus and lively piano and guitar parts; the poignant and sweet homage to his mother, ‘Momma Song’; and ‘Mr Electric Blue’ has a catchy melody. Generally, though, the album lacks some originality. 

    The TikTok Effect

    The album raises issues concerning TikTok stardom. Like many recent artists, Boone rose to fame on the social media platform. It was through his videos that he caught the attention of Dan Reynolds, frontman of Imagine Dragons, who signed Boone to his record label, Night Street Records, and as of February 2024, ‘Beautiful Things’ had been used in over 4 million videos and he has millions of followers.2 Whilst TikTok has given artists a highly accessible platform for their music to gain (sometimes considerable) recognition, (Mitski, for example, went from playing to 2,000 people in 2018 to 20,000 in 2024 after several of her songs went viral on TikTok), what it leaves me wondering is whether this rapid rise to fame is short-lived, or can it be sustained?3 There is evidence that the former might be true. For example, in 2022 singer-songwriter Steve Lacy complained that fans at his shows were only there to film a short section of his song ‘Bad Habit’ which went viral on TikTok; similarly, Joshua Bassett has amassed 3 million followers on the platform, yet struggled to sell tickets for his tour in 2024, reportedly resorting to giving out free tickets to fill seats.4 D’Souza also raises the concern that so many songs go viral on TikTok each day, it becomes increasingly difficult and unlikely for such songs to break through beyond the app.5

    Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’ was a megahit, arguably made as ubiquitous and well-known as it is by TikTok. Having listened to his new album, I wonder whether I would even be reviewing it otherwise. This raises the question of whether these artists deserve such fame; it seems arbitrary compared to others who are equally (if not more) talented and have worked their whole lives for it. As Dahan notes, “A lot of it is out of the artist’s control, and it comes down to how people are going to interpret the work and use it and if any of that happens to pop. There’s a lot of randomness.”6 Is being popular in music more a question of playing the system than talent? Whilst this has always been an inevitable aspect of the music industry (if you want to be big, you must appeal to popular taste) TikTok seems to have brought this to new heights, and accentuates just how unpredictable it can be.

    Boone shows much potential with this album; there are some catchy moments and he has a great voice, however, there is still some work to be done. What strikes me is that someone who has performed at the GRAMMYs and gained so much attention can produce an album which has such a long way to go, and the obvious reason for this is the effect of TikTok. The platform can propel artists to fame in an instant if their song happens to go viral, yet without having established a secure fanbase over years of releasing music and cultivating their talent, this fame can be hard to sustain. TikTok has certainly created new considerations for artists and music industry professionals and has changed the way the industry works.

    1. Spanos, B., ‘Benson Boone Can’t Land the Backflip’, Rolling Stone, (20 June 2025), https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/benson-boone-american-heart-review-1235368696/, accessed 2 July 2025 ; Bassett, J., ‘Benson Boone – “American Heart” review: a front flip to the middle of the road’, NME , 20 June 2025), https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/benson-boone-american-heart-3871550, accessed 2 July 2025. ↩︎
    2. Johnson, L. E., ‘He dropped out of ‘American Idol’ 3 years ago. Now, he’s up for a Grammy’, Desert News, (12 November 2024), https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2024/11/12/who-is-singer-benson-boone/, accessed 2 July 2025 ; Cockerell, C. ‘Who is Benson Boone, the American Idol teen turned TikTok megastar?’, The Standard, (26 February 2025), https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/who-is-benson-boone-american-idol-tiktok-beautiful-thing-b1213224.html, accessed 2 July 2025. ↩︎
    3. D’Souza, S. ‘The music industry’s over-reliance on TikTok shows how lazy it has become’, The Guardian, (1 March 2024), https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/01/music-industry-reliance-tiktok-universal-music-group, accessed 1 July 2025. ↩︎
    4. Ibid. ; Holcomb, C., ‘TikTok Is Creating Overnight Stars—But Many Struggle to Find Real-World Success’, Observer, (20 August 2024), https://observer.com/2024/08/tiktok-is-creating-overnight-stars-but-many-struggle-to-find-real-world-success/, 1 July 2025. ↩︎
    5. D’Souza, S. ‘The music industry’s over-reliance on TikTok shows how lazy it has become’. ↩︎
    6. Dahan, E., quoted in Holcomb, C., ‘TikTok Is Creating Overnight Stars—But Many Struggle to Find Real-World Success’. ↩︎
  • Album Review: Bastille Presents, “&” (Ampersand)

    Album Review: Bastille Presents, “&” (Ampersand)

    My rating: 8/10

    Bastille rose to fame with their single ‘Pompeii’, which was released in 2013 and reached number two on the UK Official Chart. Since their moody and dark first album All This Bad Blood, released the same year, Bastille has explored a variety of styles, including the more upbeat Wild World (released in 2016), the concept album Doom Days (released in 2019), and the futuristic and electronic Give Me the Future (released in 2022). “&” (Ampersand), released at the end of 2024, is a solo project of Dan Smith, lead singer and songwriter, released under the Bastille name. It is one of their most stripped-back and raw albums yet, and is unique in its inclusion of “story songs”, as Smith calls them, describing “people who I think are fascinating, and whose lives really spoke to me”.1 There is much to unpack in this album, from the lyrics to the accompanying music, and interestingly, to me, it is the most similar yet to their original style in All This Bad Blood, which is what made me fall in love with their music in the first place. Having said that, although having been a slight (major!) Bastille fan since about 2013, I endeavour to be objective when reviewing this album.

    Sam Howzit, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Atmosphere

    As an album, “&” creates a calm and tranquil atmosphere. This is achieved with the use of pensive and melancholic strings (a bonus for me, as a string player!), for example in ‘Leonard & Marianne’, ‘Essie & Paul’ and ‘Red Wine & Wilde’ to name a few, combined with Smith’s gentle and often subdued vocals accompanied with haunting backing harmonies. Soothing instrumentation accompanies the strings, including piano, for example in ‘Telegraph Road 1977 & 2024’; simple yet effective acoustic guitar, such as in ‘Seasons & Narcissus’; and moments where all instruments drop out to leave choir-like vocals, like ‘Drawbridge & The Baroness’. Often, instead of a prominent drum/bass beat which could risk interrupting the serene atmosphere, a more subtle pulse is formed using gentler timbres, such as strings, acoustic guitar, or a nonintrusive drum part such as in ‘Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze’ (which, being in a triple metre and using a snare, is a lot like ‘Flaws’ from their first album). This is something the band has mastered from the beginning and helps make their songs unique: they have always experimented with different timbres, instruments and beats, often also including electronic instruments. Their versatility and constant exploration of new sounds and styles from song to song and album to album make them stand out as a band. Turning back to “&”, the peaceful atmosphere (which distinguishes it from their previous albums, which have tended to be more upbeat and lively) reflects Smith’s writing process. As he explains, “I wrote these songs at my kitchen table so they needed to sound homemade and intimate and warm.”2 Whilst the gentle nature of this album is lovely, I would say that it might not be entirely versatile in different settings, however, as a very particular mood is created.

    Lyrics

    One of the most intriguing aspects of the album is the clever, poignant and thought-provoking lyrics, through which Smith’s background in literature shines. With the use of metaphors and hidden meanings, for example, “So echo back my promises” in ‘Red Wine & Wilde’, the meaning is not necessarily clear on the first listen, drawing the listener in to interpret their significance. As Smith explains in the lyrics of ‘Intros & Narrators’, the first track, the album recounts “other stories” which are “more interesting” to him; “So much bigger, boldеr, braver than I’ll ever be”. That each song delves into and depicts the experiences and events of peoples’ lives makes them all the more captivating, for example, in ‘Zheng Yi Sao & Questions For Her’, the listener is invited to learn and think about the woman the track is about. The lyrics also offer philosophical musings and commentaries on society and our relationships with the world, such as the eloquent observation that “We can get so cruel when we don’t understand” in ‘Marie & Polonium’, highlighting how ignorance can cause us to act in immoral ways, and the line, “Is this real love? I think it is, do you think it is?” in ‘Seasons & Narcissus’, commenting on the enigma that is love, about how confusing yet wonderful it can be. Furthermore, the line, “Would I be who I am without the sadness in me?” in ‘Blue Sky & The Painter’ is the heartfelt realisation that sadness might simply be ingrained into the narrator’s being, something that they can never escape. These compelling lyrics add thoughtfulness and sensitivity to the otherwise beautiful melodies that they interweave with.

    Classic Bastille style

    Despite “&”  being a solo project of Smith’s, there are several moments in the album which strike me as being very characteristic of Bastille’s sound. These include rich and resonant harmonies, such as the lovely chorus of ‘Emily & Her Penthouse in the Sky’; the deep and atmospheric opening of ‘The Soprano & Midnight Wonderings’; and the la’s at the beginning of ‘Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze’, characterised by the unexpected B♮ which is the leading tone of the song’s key, C minor, and gives the melodic line a darker and more interesting colour. These remind me of the harmonies that flowed through the first album, for example, in the introductions of ‘Icarus’ and ‘Haunt – Demo’. Bastille are also masters at creating extremely striking, intimate and powerful moments where the listener is met with a wash of acapella harmonies, like the beginning of ‘Drawbridge & The Baroness’, one of my favourites on the album. Immediately capturing your attention, the lack of accompanying instruments and the richness of the vocal layers give the feeling of time standing still. This again reminds me of their first album, particularly songs such as ‘Get Home’, which similarly opens with intimate acapella harmonies, and the bridge of ‘Skulls’, in which Smith’s powerful voice mixes with resonant vocal harmonies, accompanied only by sparse electronic drum beats. To me, this is one of the most wonderful and arresting aspects of Bastille songs.

    The beautiful instrumentation in “&” is also often reminiscent of All This Bad Blood, such as the mesmerising and daydream-like piano arpeggios in a high register in ‘Drawbridge & The Baroness’, reminding me of the bridge in ‘Get Home’. Similarly, the prevalence of string accompaniments throughout the album was also present in the first; see ‘Oblivion’, or ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’, for example. I love that the band’s older style seeps through, as it is so unique and characteristic of them. However, new elements and styles are also incorporated into this album which they haven’t perhaps explored as much previously, for example, the more rock-esque electric guitar in ‘Drawbridge & The Baroness’ and ‘Blue Sky & The Painter’ and the folky character of some songs, such as the simple acoustic guitar in ‘Red Wine & Wilde’ and ‘Seasons & Narcissus’. This convergence of their older style with unfamiliar sounds further proves their adaptability and desire to evolve and be creative as a band, a quality that is arguably crucial for an artist to remain fresh and avoid becoming stagnant in their style.

    Talent 

    The power and quality of Smith’s voice are outstanding in “&”, made even more prominent by the stripped-back instrumentation. Some particularly striking moments for me include ‘Leonard & Marianne’, where his vocals gradually swell in volume and intensity, and his entrancing falsetto in ‘Drawbridge & The Baroness’ and the end of ‘Zhen Yi Sao & Questions For Her’. As well as Smith’s masterful vocals, the accompanying music is beautiful, with a gorgeous combination of instruments wonderfully arranged, sometimes even verging on classical. The strings, as already mentioned, add emotion and depth, and the glissandos in ‘Zhen Yi Sao & Questions For Her’ create an almost cinematic effect. Similarly, in the likes of ‘Telegraph Road 1977 & 2024’ and ‘The Soprano & Midnight Wonderings’, the gentle and peaceful piano creates a lovely accompaniment, contrasting with often unexpected moments of electric guitar, for example in ‘Blue Sky & The Painter’ and ‘Drawbridge & The Baroness’, as mentioned above. Overall, they are very well-written songs with balance, variation and clever interplay between the vocals and instrumentation, demonstrating Smith’s skill as a songwriter and the musical talent of the band.

    Conclusion 

    “&” is an album of very high quality, from the lyric writing, to the arrangements, to the standard of the vocals and instrumental performance. It is unique in the way that it tells stories about people and moments in history, and yet is very characteristic of Bastille, combining some of their familiar older features with new elements. The album sets a calming mood and atmosphere, and as Dan reflected, “For me it’s been the most brilliant, fun and chilled process – while also trying to do justice to the lives of these amazing people,” and this shows.3 Dan is a masterful songwriter and Bastille is an excellent band, and my love for them has not wavered! They are unique, thoughtful, and talented musicians.

    1. Bastille (2024) ‘Bastille Presents “&”’, Bastille Newsletter, 22 July. ↩︎
    2. Ibid. ↩︎
    3. Ibid. ↩︎