The 300-Word Album Review: BASTILLE’s “Give Me The Future”

In 2016, I attended a Bastille concert in Brooklyn. Lead singer, Dan Smith, addressed the audience towards the end of the show to outright apologize that a lot of the lyrics in his songs, bluntly, are really depressing. Since then they’ve released Doom Days. Yeah. Give Me The Future by title alone is a more hopeful vibe.

To quote a meme I saw on Instagram, “Bastille has really nailed the whole, the world is ending, so why not party vibe.” As this album is the most electronic Bastille album yet, it is safe to say that yes, it does have said party vibe.

The titular song, “Give Me The Future” feels like an introduction to the album, feeling traditionally Bastille with iconic Smith’s vocals and drum beats. “Back To The Future” just might be as fun as the iconic film and has the pop hooks Rami Yacoub is known for aka “…Baby One More Time”, “Rain on Me”, and “What Makes You Beautiful”, just to name a few.

“Plug In” became a personal favorite, discussing the downright chaos of the digital age. It makes you think as with so many Bastille lyrics. In this case, you question yourself, is the overwhelming anxiety of the digital age worth it?

The band’s latest single is “Shut Off The Lights”, which I cannot wait to sing-scream at Bastille’s upcoming US tour. Really hoping top 40 radio stations pick up the track, it’s a perfect summer song to sip some (possibly spiked) lemonade at a pool party. The spoken word by actor Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal and Rogue One) is a welcome surprise that fits perfectly. The album is produced by none other than superhuman/OneRepublic frontman/writer/producer Ryan Tedder (1989, “Bleeding Love”, and “Halo”). Simply, it is a damn good album.

Give Me The Future will be released on February 4. You can get your tickets to Bastille’s US tour HERE.