Nothing wrong with an ambiguous video, ‘Bad Blood’ is certainly that. Directed by Olivier Groulx (the fellow behind Cold Specks’ ‘Blank Maps’ and ‘Holland’), Bastille have created a visual murder mystery (and one which you can join, via the band’s facebook) and an aural treat.
A young female antagonist, whose relationship with Bastille’s Dan Smith is unclear, is shown breaking into the frontman’s home. Haunted by a figure dressed in the jacket she was wearing, the girl behaves both strangely and stoically. In a juxtaposition of seduction and repulsion, the girl feasts on rotten food, using her finger to eat from the proverbial forbidden fruit.
The video opens with a shot of a calm sea. Throughout the eerie track the narrative returns to this, seemingly as the girl grows increasingly guilty. The final section shows the girl take a box from Smith’s house, burning evidence by the sea, as a flashback shows the girl watching Dan drown…
‘Bad Blood’ always promised to be a beautiful song, but the accompanying video is both richly enigmatic and superbly shot, building interest throughout. It’s more a short than a music video.
‘Bad Blood’ is out August 20th via Virgin Records.
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By Maddie Russell
Dance Yrself Clean
