Indie pop band Bastille have announced a new album that will be titled ‘&’ (Ampersand). The project is set to be released in four separate parts with the full release being on the 25th of October. Along with announcing the project the first part of the album has been released which includes four tracks to introduce ‘&’ as well as the first track, ‘Intro & Narrators’, being accompanied by a music video which you can watch below.
The new project is led by Bastille frontman, Dan Smith, and is described as a collection of songs that tell a story and intertwine the lives and wide worlds of startling women and men. It tells the story of various characters including poets, artists, scientists and characters from religion. The album is said to be fed by new collaborations, dazzling arrangements and a spirit of musical spirit that is hoping to open minds. Listen to Smith talking about the album below.
The album will be released in four parts leading up to the full release of ‘&’ in October. The first part of the project is out now and includes four tracks that introduce the record. The first track is ‘Intros and Narrators’ which sees Smith play fingerpicked guitar and “sets out the mission and tone” for the album. The next track, ‘Eve and Paradise Lost’, explores themes of blame and shame that women are made to feel “from the dawn of time.” ‘Seasons & Narcissus is described as “a curious, twisted love song between someone and their own reflection.” And the last track of part one, ‘Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky’, is about the life of 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson and how her life has been framed.
The album is supposed to uncover the stories of people who have been misunderstood in myth, culture, and society, telling the stories of individuals who have been neglected by mainstream society. There is also a song that is inspired by Smith’s family, exploring the idea of how music is passed on through generations by showing how Smith is connected to his father’s poetry and his mother’s singing.
‘&’ (Ampersand) is described as “a collection of songs about looking out at the world, disappearing into other lives rather than into ourselves, and about the humanity that can crackle and shimmer as a consequence.”#
Fans can pre-order the group’s upcoming project from their official store. You can order the album in Vinyl and CD including different coloured vinyls as well as vinyl copies with hand printed ‘&’ collector’s artwork. There are also CD and Vinyl copies available which come with a signed art card.
The full track list and artwork for ‘&’ (Ampersand) is below:
Intros & Narrators
Eve & Paradise Lost
Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky
Blue Sky & The Painter
Leonard & Marianne
Marie & Polonium
Red Wine & Wilde
Seasons & Narcissus
Drawbridge & The Baroness
The Soprano & Her Midnight Wonderings
Essie & Paul
Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze
Zheng Yi Sao & Questions For Her
Telegraph Road 1977 & 2024
