Created by
Dan Smith while the rest of the band's members took a break after the
Give Me the Future tour,
& [Ampersand] is something of a return to
Bastille's roots, since it was originally
Smith's solo project. As if to reflect the slimmer lineup,
Smith dials down
Bastille's usual high-impact sound, favoring gentle vocals and softly strummed and plucked guitars for the album's stories of historical and mythological figures. Even if
& [Ampersand] doesn't sound quite like
Bastille's other albums, the way
Smith gives familiar tales a fresh perspective harks back to the "Pompeii" days, especially when the chanted hook kicks in on the prologue "Intros & Narrators." There's still something endearing in the wonder he finds in the world and people around him as he brings his songs' subjects down to earth while celebrating their accomplishments. On "Marie & Polonium," he champions
Marie Curie's ultimately fatal devotion to her scientific discoveries as "the most rock 'n' roll thing that I might have ever heard."
& [Ampersand]'s more intimate settings let
Smith's thoughtful lyrics take the lead on "Eve & Paradise Lost," which tells the story of that fateful bite of the apple and its aftermath ("I will always take the fall for us"), and on "Seasons & Narcissus," a clever retelling of the mythical love story ("Life rolls by/While we waste away").
Smith doesn't forsake cloud-busting sonics entirely. The
Paul Robeson-inspired "Essie & Paul" boasts
Bastille-sized choruses even without lavish instrumentation, while "Blue Sky & the Painter" turns
Edvard Munch's battle with depression into one of the album's most buoyant highlights. While
& [Ampersand]'s arrangements occasionally sound too similar to each other, the album's gentler, more reflective incarnation of
Bastille still offers plenty for fans who love the band's way with storytelling as much as their usually epic sound. ~ Heather Phares
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