Bastille Day is here! Following the release of four singles (“Quarter Past Midnight,” “Doom Days,” “Joy,” and “Those Nights”), Bastille has finally released their third studio album, “Doom Days.”
The British group made up of Dan Smith, Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson, and Chris Wood (plus Charlie Barnes on tour) is best known for their 2013 hit “Pompeii” and their more recent collaboration with Marshmello on “Happier.” Their first album “Bad Blood” was released in 2013 followed by their second album “Wild World” in 2016. Bastille’s newest album is notably shorter than previous albums with a tracklist of 11 songs, compared to the 19 on “Wild World” and 25 on the extended edition of “Bad Blood,” titled “All this Bad Blood.”
The release of “Doom Days” on June 14 was accompanied by the release of a website that offers a virtual reality experience of a house that includes a room for each song on the album. A user can move through the house, listening to each song and taking a look at the people and objects in each room that match the lyrics and theme of that song. The website describes the experience as a way to “Escape the harsh realities of the world and step into the Doom Days house. Explore the party and unlock memories to piece together the night’s events.”
The concept album has been described by lead-singer Dan Smith as a single night at a party in which each track represents a specific time.
“Doom Days” follows similar themes of Bastille’s previous work, discussing the toxicity of social media and self-image as well as the romanticism of the end of the world in songs like “Doom Days” and “Joy.”
Bastille has released four new music videos for this album, the first of which included Dan Smith shocking fans by shaving his head in the 2018 video for “Quarter Past Midnight.” The video follows Smith through a late-night party as he encounters drag queens, a possible cult, a bathroom make-out session, and more.
Watch the video below: