By Ahni Brown Harbin, Staff Writer
Artist: Bastille
Album: “&” (Ampersand)
Favorite Songs: “Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky," ”Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze," and “Zheng Yi Sao & Questions For Her”
For Fans of: Glass Animals, Hozier, Vampire Weekend, and Declan McKenna
&...An Overview!
For over a decade now, Bastille has been consistently releasing music that is cinematic, deep, and raw. They gave us their new album “&” (Ampersand) on October 25th, and this new album does not disappoint. Based on the idea of connection, Bastille has brought us a collection of songs about relationships, events, people, and emotions. A history lesson and a crash course in being human rolled into one, “&” is sure to connect with people across generations, locations, and tastes.
The songs on this album were written by Bastille frontman Dan Smith, and feature collaborators, emphasizing the ideas of connection and relationships that Bastille strove to exemplify with this new album. A collaborator in an unusual way, historian Emma Nagouse helped Smith research people and stories to share that may have been forgotten in human history. The result is unlike anything that I have heard, a sweeping and cinematic tour of stories about love, loss, and being human. Smith’s distinct and impassioned vocals are the perfect vessel for these stories, and his production skills are really the cherry on top of an album that is raw, real, and remarkable.
Early Impressions...and an Impressionist!
The album opens with “Intros & Narrators” which is a song told from Smith’s point of view, to us the listener, offering us insight into the rest of the album. Smith sings of history repeating itself, hinting at the themes of the album and introducing the ideas of seeing yourself depicted in the songs. The song ends with a warning to “never lay your trust in the narrator” before the album continues with Smith’s narration of the stories of the album.
Immediately, we are introduced to Smith’s gut-wrenching vocals and lyrics on the track “Eve & Paradise Lost”, retelling the story of Adam and Eve from the perspective of Eve’s pain as she experiences childbirth. He sings of her “carrying our babies and our sins” and dealing with the implications of her being made as a mate for Adam.
From this song, we are taken to Amherst Massachusetts for a song about Emily Dickinson. In this revisionist defense of the poet told from the perspective of her sister Lavinia who claims “she was never lost,” Smith argues that, rather than viewing her as an oddball or a recluse, we should recognize the poet for the worlds she built in her mind.
The next story on the album is that of Edvard Munch, the Norwegian artist famous for the Scream. The song is called “Blue Sky & The Painter” and confronts Munch’s history of mental health struggles. Smith asks “Would I be who I am without the sadness in me?” in the powerful bridge of the song, channeling Munch’s emotions in this powerful anthem about having hope for the future.
After this rousing guitar heavy song, the album takes a turn back towards the stripped back nature of the first few songs with “Leonard & Marianne," a song about Leonard Cohen and his lover Marianne Ihlen. This soul-crushing song about lost love and memory showcases Smith’s vocals and songwriting beautifully.
“Leonard & Marianne” ends with a lead-in to the next song, “Marie & Polonium” which is about Marie Curie and her research. The song urges us to “Love deeper, even if it kills you/ have no fear when you got the answers” and hints at Curie’s dedication to furthering scientific progress, even though it led to her demise.
The next song is an impassioned love song called “Red Wine & Wilde” which tells of a drunken night of Oscar Wilde and his experiences being a queer man in a time where that was not accepted. Wilde wants his lover to stay, but the man is worried about the world around them criticizing their affair. It is a heartbreaking song about forbidden romance and the pain of social norms.
Continuing on the Love Train
Another love song follows this one, however this track tells the story of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. “Seasons & Narcissus” captures what it feels like to fall in love, even if it is in an unconventional way. It captures the fear and hope of new love, reimagining the story as Narcissus may have experienced it, rather than the reactions of those around him.
This soft love song gives way to an epic anthem called “Drawbridge & The Baroness” which evokes many of the same themes of Bastille’s first album “Bad Blood." The song is an exploration of the drawbridge exercise, which explores how authority, power, and values affect how we see the world. A suggestion of Dan Smith’s interpretation of this exercise, the song shows the characters and his perception of their guilt.
Another shift from anthem to ballad happens between this song and “The Soprano & Midnight Wonderings,” which features BIM, a powerhouse vocalist and longtime collaborator of Bastille. Her vocals take the lead in this song, offering a shift from Smith’s voice to BIM’s soulful and full tone. Her classic and ageless voice conveys the timeless themes of the album beautifully, and this collaboration fits with the rest of the album in a stunning synergy.
“Essie & Paul” is a song telling the story of the relationship between Paul and Eslanda Robeson. The song, from the point of view of Essie, tells of the sacrifices she made for Paul and the betrayal she felt when he cheated on her with other women. Essie copes with the reality of everything that she has had to give up and put up with in their relationship in this passive aggressive song urging Paul to keep doing what he wants without considering her.
From this song about sacrifice, we are taken to another. “Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze” tells the story of Julie D’Aubigny, one of the most amazing forgotten queer women in history, who set fire to a building to free her lover from the nunnery where her family had sent her in an attempt to end her affair with Julie. The amazing, yet forgotten, D’Aubigny accomplished much in her life. This song is only a small snapshot. The song itself is powerful and romantic, featuring a blend of French and English that makes the track unforgettable.
From one strong woman to another, the next song on the album tells about the Chinese pirate Zheng Yi Sao. “Zheng Yi Sao & Questions For Her” is an astounding song that Dan Smith has perfectly produced to sound like the roiling sea that Zheng Yi Sao ruled. The song is powerful and memorable, as Smith asks Yi Sao how she managed to accomplish all that she did. He marvels at her power and pays homage to her with this epic song.
Closing the Album with Family Ties
The album ends with a song that is particularly special to Dan Smith, as it is based on a poem his dad wrote in 1977. Smith has said that it was one of the first songs he ever wrote. “Telegraph Road 1977 & 2024” features his fathers words and his mom’s vocals, as well as a verse added at the end inspired by Smith’s own experiences in San Francisco, where the poem was originally composed. This family affair of a song is powerful and an excellent end to the album.
This album is an amazing compilation of human stories of everyday wonders and life-changing events. Bastille has achieved something monumental with this album, and its ability to connect with people across generations, lifestyles, and locations. For further information on the stories behind these songs, visit ampersand.bastillebastille.com and listen to Dan Smith and Emma Nagouse’s Muses: An Ampersand Podcast.
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