New song comes as “Distorted Light Beams” hangs in top 15 at radio
Bastille has released “Thelma + Louise,” which shows the next evolution of the band’s sound. A huge fan of film of the same name, Bastille songwriter and frontman Dan Smith has brought their 1966 Ford Thunderbird and the escapist liberation of this iconic film into the universe of Bastille’s forthcoming new album.
In the track, the band pulls together the punchy drum machines and dreamy synths of the 80’s with a newfound sparseness, creating a fresh backdrop for a classic, anthemic chorus. It’s an infectious meditation on “days like these” where you want to just get away, whether that’s simply shutting your eyes and imagining yourself somewhere else or driving down to Mexico and leaping off the edge of the world. The song cleverly taps into the dichotomy at the heart of the film, where freedom and living in the moment are tempered by the threat of cold, hard reality intervening at any moment.
Co-written with legendary songwriter Rami Yacoub (Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time”, Lady Gaga’s Chromatica) and longtime collaborator Mark Crew, “Thelma + Louise” is the second track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming new album. It follows the captivating lead single “Distorted Light Beam” — co-written and co-produced with Ryan Tedder. The band have also dropped the sci-fi-inspired new track “Give Me The Future”, the vocals for which paint a picture recalling imagery from Blade Runner and beyond. It marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band — one that revolutionizes their sound — and hints at a new sonic and visual world to come.
Escapism is a theme that’s explored in depth on the new record, especially in connection with technology — in this case under the watchful gaze of Future Inc., a data-hungry, fake big tech enterprise from the future (that may or may not bear some resemblance to big tech enterprises in the present). The company’s innovative “Futurescape” technology (as seen in the video for “Distorted Light Beam”) is offering infinite possibilities of a new kind—the chance to journey in to your own innerverse. In Smith’s words, the concept gives Bastille the opportunity to “poke fun at the way these companies appeal to us and appeal to the world, and advertise themselves and talk about themselves, and take themselves really seriously and earn huge amounts of money whilst taking all our data and more.”
“Distorted Light Beam” continues to climb up the alternative rock charts and currently sits in Top 15. In support of the song, the band recently released a live performance video, “How We Made It” breakdown, and “Behind The Lyrics” video. Bastille will perform “Distorted Light Beam” and “Thelma + Louise” on Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series on August 23rd.
