Maybe I am a little bit biased, but Bastille's new mix tape "VS" is breaking all kinds of boundaries. A full album that consists entirely of collaborations. What? That's amazing, right?
It isn't new news (but it certainty isn't Bad_News) , the mix tape has been available for pre-order for some time now. But they just released the song I have been most excited for. "Bite Down" VS girl power band Haim.
You can listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmPTfsoNsSM
In the meantime here's a mini review of all the released songs so far.
Torn Apart- At first listen, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't like it. After the 3rd listen, however, I love it. It's my favorite on the mix-tape so far (asides from Weapon...but we'll get there). The song is pretty pop, but still very alternative. A lot of the new stuff is very electronic heavy, including this one. Something about it is very uplifting and honestly makes me want to dance.There are tons and tons of layers in the song and the production quality is sick. If you listen closely you can pick out layers and it'll make things really interesting to listen to. Also, I'm not going to talk about the music video on here, you can figure that out for yourself.
The Driver- Again, I didn't fall in love at first listen. Right? I'm a terrible fan. After reading the lyrics and finding hard core Romeo and Juliet references, I fell in love. Lyrically, the album has been amazing so far and that's usually very hard to come by. Dan's vocals start off a bit wonky, but eventually pick up. And for the most part, I feel this album has been like that. They did record this while on tour so I don't have a problem. His vocals are still amazing and the lyrics/ rest of the guys make up for it.
Weapon- I heard this song about a year ago last year. Unreleased and live. I was expecting a version much like the live versions (the ones that start out with male vocals)..the recorded starts with nice strings and then hard core beats. It was different than expected, but the only song I heard and at first listen I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending is my favorite thing in the world. It completely changes and feels very R&B/ 90's boy band vibes, everything about it is amazing. Somehow, this song got tremendously amounts of hate for Angel Haze. I don't understand how because she is extremely talented. Search the lyrics for the song to see just how much thought went into the writing. It'll blow your mind. For those who think the band is changing their style, please check out their first 2 mix tapes and pre-Bad Blood stuff (which is on YouTube) I'm not going to waste my energy talking about how the band has not changed.
Bite Down- Like all the other songs, I took time out of my American day to stream these songs first plays from BBC 1. But again, I found myself disappointed at first listen. BUT again I found myself in love with it by the 3rd listen. Not sure why VS is doing this to me but I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Like the other released songs there's heavy electronics and bass along with loads of layers. The song opens with I'm not sure if its Este Haim or Will from Bastille. Either way, its sick and leaves me somehow wanting more the rest of the song. The chorus's are very strong along with the lyrics, again a recurring theme. You can hear Haim in the background, I only wish there was a full verse of them. They become backing vocals, which is ok if that's what they went for. Overall I ending up enjoying this one a lot.
You can pre-order the new VS mixtape in the Itunes store now. Check out all the songs and give me your feed back, I'd love to hear!
(Also the cover art is amazing!)
