On their new album Give Me The Future, Bastille are deeply wary of what that particular wish in its title might bring. The band’s fourth album, which reached the top spot in the UK album charts upon its release in February, is a concept record based around ideas of artificial intelligence and mass surveillance from tech companies, all filtered through the messaging of a fictional organisation called Future Inc.
The company in question was also an anchor of the band’s ambitious, highly stylised show at The O2 last night, which raised similar questions to those asked on the album, before going on to provide joyous answers. Split into various segments, or ‘sessions’ as a robotic voice from Future Inc. called them, the band played five or so songs through – from the anthemic joy of Laura Palmer to the gritty rock of WHAT YOU GONNA DO??? – before frontman Dan Smith would periodically lie down in a reclining chair and the robot would ask him where he wanted to go next in a routine somewhere between a futuristic video game and psychological examination.
