Bastille have never been afraid to use other artists’ songwriting as a canvas. Since 2012, the Other People’s Heartache series has experimented with different sounds and genres through covers. While Pt. III veered away from covers, the UK quartet’s fourth instalment returns to mash-ups and samples, parlaying garage, pop and R&B standards into a lo-fi, cinematic mixtape. Craig David opens En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go (Love)” with a misty-eyed croon before the track segues into Kianja’s honeyed vocals, and Rationale’s androgynous baritone oozes over a trance-like rendition of Sweet Female Attitude’s “Flowers”. The collection’s lone original, “Grip”, explores darker themes with a percussive build that shares DNA with Bastille’s own hit “Pompeii” and climaxes in a distorted chorus. Throughout, frontman Dan Smith’s vocals swirl and harmonise with those of his rap, dance and soul guests—proving that the quirkier the collaboration, the better.
More Stories
ABM releases classic single ‘Rumba Samba’
‘Mr. Reaper’ brings out ‘Awaken’ music video
‘Porky Paul’ drops another banger “Who Do You Think You Are” featuring the vocal talents of ‘Jasmine Knight’