In my opinion, one of the most versatile and enjoyable genres is alternative. Some songs labeled as “alternative” sound just like pop songs; for example, “Strangers” by Roosevelt or “Feel It” by d4vd. Other alternative songs sound just like rock songs like “Burn” by We Are The Fallen and “Happier” by YUNGBLUD, Oil Sykes, and Bring Me The Horizon. Then there’s songs like “Spiral” by RY X and “No Time To Die” by Billie Eilish that have their own unique sound. I’m not sure what makes a song “Alternative”, but I believe “Alternative” is just the umbrella classification for songs. So basically, if an alternative song has heavy rock elements, it would specifically be alternative rock. Same goes for heavy pop elements so on and so forth. A super talented band that’s considered “alternative” is Bastille. Since a good amount of Bastille songs have rock elements, Bastille’s music would fall under Alternative Rock. 

In 2013, Bastille released their debut album, Bad Blood. The first song of the album, “Pompeii” was my introduction to this great band. I actually first heard this song while playing a video game. It was part of the Need For Speed: Rivals soundtrack. Since it’s a racing game, I usually tend to focus more on the sounds of the cars I’m racing, but hearing this song in the background immediately caught my attention. 

I’m not too sure on what “Pompeii” is really about. Taking the name of the song into consideration, I believe that the song has some type of relation to the actual Pompeii and the unfortunate volcanic event that happened there. The lyrics of the bridge of the song:

“ Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?

Oh-oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?

And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love

 (Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?)

Grey clouds roll over the hills bringing darkness from above

 (Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?)”

©Lyrics provided by Genius

Give an idea of the theme of the song. Overall, I believe this song is a great introduction to the band, Bastille. To write a song based on the point of view of people in terror takes imagination and creativity. 

Rating:8/10