Letter to You - Bastille's "Wild World - (Complete Edition)"

December 19, 2021

Relationships that burn brightly and then out leave a sweet taste. Years pass and they’re nearly forgotten. Then you catch a familiar smell in the mall and it all comes back for a head-spinning moment.

Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic. Maybe you are too, though. Bastille’s “Wild World (Complete Edition)” was my sweetest whirlwind romance and has been my favorite recent re-discovery. In 2016, “Wild World” was on repeat. I disinterred each song from my subconscious as I sang raucously along during my commute.

I mulled over why it’s been so much fun. In 2016, I was beginning to broaden my musical horizons. “Wild World” gave me the blueprint for my preferred album composition. It has the anthems (“Warmth”), bangers (“Good Grief”), and introspective moments (“Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)”). Albums, I believe, should be heterogeneous in sound. A variety of song styles makes the heights breathtaking and the quiet moments powerful.

“Wild World”’s second lesson for me continues to affect my life. The Complete Edition ends with the song “The Anchor.” It opens with a spoken conversation between two voices: “You can’t - you can’t explain, man, what’s going on in your brain. You can’t tell somebody how, like, what’s happening; what’s going on in your brain - I can’t -”

“Why don’t you just try?”

When I heard that calm voice ask the frantic voice to “just try” to explain what’s going on, I realized I wanted to be that anchor. “Wild World” will never be a favorite album of mine, but it will always hold a special place in my heart thanks to the lessons it taught me.

Highlights:

• “Warmth:” Life- and love-affirming, “Warmth” provides the theme for the whole album.

• “Glory:” Live in the now; laugh until you die - can you think of any better way to go?

• “Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith):” How do you handle justice after a terrible evil? Bastille aren’t afraid to go deep on an otherwise lively album.

• “The Anchor:” People’s minds can be stormy seas: Lend an ear when you can.