| "&" | ||||
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| Released | 25 October 2024 | |||
| Length | 52:14 | |||
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| Bastille chronology | ||||
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| Singles from "&" | ||||
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| "&" (Part Four) | |||
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| EP by | |||
| Released | 15 August 2025 | ||
| Length | 14:54 | ||
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| Singles from "&" (Part Four) | |||
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"&" (sometimes with "Ampersand" in parentheses) is the fifth studio album by British indie pop band Bastille, released on 25 October 2024 by Virgin EMI and Best Laid Plans Records.[1][2] It appeared in four parts, with Parts One and Two released on 26 July and 13 September 2024, respectively.[3][4] Part Three was released on 25 October, alongside the full album; Part Four, on 15 August 2025 as a standalone EP.
Background and concept
[edit]"&" is largely a solo endeavor by the band's frontman Dan Smith. The album consists of "story songs" written about various historical figures, myths, and stories.[5][6] Smith originally conceived the idea of "&" with three tracks: "Leonard & Marianne", written in 2020 after watching the film Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, "Bonnie & Clyde", based on the differences between the titular characters' real and sensationalized lives, and "Telephone Road 1977 & 2024", rewritten based on the first song Smith wrote at age 14, which was based on one of his father's poems about a woman he met in San Francisco in the late '70s.[7] After constantly touring and recording albums in tour buses and hotels, the band took a quiet year in 2024. Smith took this time to write "&" at home on his kitchen table, going back to how he wrote the band's debut album Bad Blood. He and other musicians then spent a three weeks at different studios across England recording all of the album's tracks.[8] Sonically, the tracks consist of stripped back, guitar-led instrumentals, often without percussion, with soultry and intimate vocals from Smith.
Release and promotion
[edit]The album was announced on 22 July 2024 alongside an album trailer.[9] Part One was released on 26 July containing four tracks: "Intros & Narrators", "Eve & Paradise Lost", "Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky", and "Seasons & Narcissus", the former of which was released as the lead single alongside a music video on 19 July.[3][10] Part Two released on 13 September containing the two tracks "Blue Sky & the Painter" and "Leonard & Marianne", with the former released as the second single, with a music video released on 26 September.[4][11] Part Three consists of the remaining songs on "&", released on 25 October along with the full album. Apart from the two singles, music videos were also released for the songs "Seasons & Narcissus", "Eve & Paradise Lost", and "Leonard & Marianne".
In promotion of the album, Bastille performed a limited run of one-off shows in Europe and the US throughout November 2024.[12]
Part Four of "&" was released on 15 August 2025 as a standalone EP, with the single "Bathsheba & Him" released on 1 August.[13][14] The EP also contains the tracks "Bonnie & Clyde", "My Head & the Glass", and "Bored & Overboard (Pandora's Box)", as well as live versions of some of the band's tracks recorded at the Turner Contemporary Gallery as part of Arte Concert's Sounds Like Art series.[15]
Podcast
[edit]Dan Smith also co-hosted the podcast "Muses: An Ampersand Podcast" with academic and podcaster Emma Nagouse, which ran for twelve episodes from October to December 2024. It explored the background of songs from "&" as well as the history surrounding each track.[16][17] Each episode also included a portion where Nagouse would give Smith "homework" to write a new song about a different historical figure or topic. The podcast concluded with a live show at Bush Hall on 3 December 2024, with singer-songwriter Bim as a special guest, who is also featured on the album.[18]
Critical reception
[edit]In a positive review, Sarah Jamieson of DIY called the album "an innovative, immersive and wholly enjoyable project".[19] While Jui Zaveri of The Indiependent called the project "an ambitious experiment of sound and storytelling" and "A haunting indie-folk album: quiet and pared-back instrumentals that sometimes swell up to orchestral heights; beautifully poetic lyrics and an atmosphere of melancholy".[20] A positive review from XS Noize, written by Michael Barron, also noted that the album "blends modern music with rich narratives, creating a fascinating interplay between the past and present".[21]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Dan Smith. Additional writers are included below.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intros & Narrators" |
| 3:53 | |
| 2. | "Eve & Paradise Lost" |
| 3:10 | |
| 3. | "Emily & Her Penthouse in the Sky" |
|
| 3:20 |
| 4. | "Blue Sky & the Painter" |
| 3:52 | |
| 5. | "Leonard & Marianne" |
| 3:56 | |
| 6. | "Marie & Polonium" | Ralph Pelleymounter |
| 3:22 |
| 7. | "Red Wine & Wilde" |
| 3:41 | |
| 8. | "Seasons & Narcissus" |
| 3:32 | |
| 9. | "Drawbridge & The Baroness" |
| 3:41 | |
| 10. | "The Soprano & Midnight Wonderings" (featuring Bim) | Abimbola Amoako-Gyampah |
| 4:30 |
| 11. | "Essie & Paul" |
| 3:37 | |
| 12. | "Mademoiselle & The Nunnery Blaze" |
| 3:59 | |
| 13. | "Zheng Yi Sao & Questions For Her" |
| 3:34 | |
| 14. | "Telegraph Road 1977 & 2024" |
| 4:07 | |
| Total length: | 52:14 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bonnie & Clyde" |
| 4:10 | |
| 2. | "Bathsheba & Him" | Emma Nagouse |
| 3:33 |
| 3. | "My Head & the Glass" | Rob Milton |
| 3:44 |
| 4. | "Bored & Overboard (Pandora's Box)" |
| 3:27 | |
| Total length: | 14:54 | |||
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from Apple Music.[22][23]
Musicians
[edit]- Dan Smith – lead vocals, (1–9, 11–14), backing vocals (tracks 1–14), mellotron (track 3), piano (track 10)
- Abimbola Amoako-Gyampah – backing vocals (tracks 1, 4, 10), lead vocals (track 10)
- Charlie Barnes – guitar (tracks 1–2, 4, 6, 8–10, 13), piano (tracks 1, 5–6, 8, 14), bass guitar (tracks 1, 6, 10, 13–14), string arrangement (track 6), wurlitzer piano (track 9), keyboards, lap steel guitar (track 12)
- James Earp – guitar (tracks 1, 3, 7–8, 12–13), bass guitar (tracks 3, 7–8)
- Moira Mack – backing vocals (tracks 1–2, 4–8, 11–13)
- JF Abraham – bass guitar (tracks 2, 4–5, 9, 11–12), string arrangement (track 5–7, 11, 13), trumpet (track 9), synthesizer, synthesizer programming (track 13)
- Grant McNeill – backing vocals (tracks 3–4)
- Ralph Pelleymounter – backing vocals (tracks 3–4)
- Josh Taffel – backing vocals (tracks 3–4)
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – programming (tracks 4, 10–11, 13)
- Matt Ingram – drums (tracks 4, 6, 8–10, 12–13)
- Ciara Ismail – violin (tracks 4–7, 11, 13)
- Stephanie Benedetti – violin (tracks 4–7, 11, 13)
- Natalia Senior-Brown – viola (tracks 4–7, 11, 13)
- Rachel Lander – cello (tracks 4–7, 11, 13)
- Ric Elsworth – vibraphone, marimba (track 6), glockenspiel (track 9)
- Jack Duxbury – guitar, piano (track 7)
- Isla Smith – backing vocals (track 14)
Technical
[edit]- Smith – production (tracks 1–14)
- Mark Crew – production (tracks 1–13), recording engineering (tracks 1–14), mixing (tracks 1–3, 8, 14)
- Emily Lazar – mastering (tracks 1–14)
- Amy Sergeant – recording engineering (tracks 1–14)
- Luke Gibbs – assistant recording engineering (tracks 1–14), assistant engineering (tracks 4–7, 9–14)
- Dylan Grafftey-Smith – assistant recording engineering (tracks 1–14), assistant engineering (tracks 4–7, 9–14)
- Cassius Whiley-Morton – assistant recording engineering (tracks 1–14), assistant engineering (tracks 4–7, 9–14)
- Manon Grandjean – mixing (tracks 2, 7, 12)
- Gili Portal – assistant mixing (tracks 2, 7, 12)
- Grech-Marguerat – mixing (tracks 4, 10–11, 13)
- Luke Burgoyne – assistant mixing (tracks 4, 10–11, 13)
- Seb Maletka-Catala – assistant mixing (tracks 4, 10–11, 13)
- Jan "Stan" Kybert – immersive mastering and mixing (tracks 4–7, 9–14)
- Lee Smith – mixing (tracks 5–6, 9)
- Michael Osborne – assistant mixing (tracks 5–6, 9)
- Barnes – production (tracks 6, 14)
- Abraham – production (track 11)
"&" (Part Four)
[edit]Musicians
[edit]- Smith – lead vocals (tracks 1–4), backing vocals (1–4), organ (track 1), programming (track 3), mellotron (track 4)
- Barnes – guitar (tracks 1–4), piano (tracks 2–3), bass guitar (track 2), backing vocals (track 4)
- Earp – guitar (tracks 1, 3), bass guitar (track 1)
- Ingram – drums (tracks 1, 3–4)
- Mack – backing vocals (tracks 1–3)
- Crew – programming (track 2)
- Abraham – bass guitar (tracks 3–4), backing vocals (track 4)
- Amoako-Gyampah – baritone (track 3)
- McNeill – backing vocals (track 4)
- Pelleymounter – backing vocals (track 4)
- Taffel – backing vocals (track 4)
Technical
[edit]- Smith – production (tracks 1–4)
- Crew – production, recording engineering (tracks 1–4), mixing (track 2)
- Lazar – mastering (tracks 1, 3–4)
- Sergeant – recording engineering (tracks 1, 3–4)
- Gibbs – assistant recording engineering (tracks 1, 3–4)
- Grafftey-Smith – assistant recording engineering (tracks 1, 3–4)
- Whiley-Morton – assistant recording engineering (tracks 1, 3–4)
- Grech-Marguerat – mixing (track 1)
- Burgoyne – assistant mixing (track 1)
- Maletka-Catala – assistant mixing (track 1)
- Kybert – immersive mixing (tracks 1–4), immersive mastering (track 1)
- Matt Colton – mastering (track 2)
- Grandjean – mixing (tracks 3–4)
- Portal – assistant mixing (tracks 3–4)
References
[edit]- ^ Sangataldo, Gabrielle (10 January 2025). "Every Song on Bastille's "&" (Ampersand) Explained". Trill. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ Reilly, Nick (22 October 2024). "Bastille's Dan Smith tells us about new album '&'". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ a b Richards, Will (26 July 2024). "Bastille announce new four-part album '&', share Part One". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Dan Smith unveils new singles, "Blue Sky & The Painter" and "Leonard & Marianne"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ Jamieson, Sarah Jamieson (21 October 2024). "Bastille: Perfect Pairs". DIY. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Forrest, Jo (26 July 2024). "Bastille Presents: "&" (Ampersand) - A Collection Of Story Songs". TotalNtertainment. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Baltin, Steve. "Saturday Conversation: Bastille's Dan Smith On His Love Of Literature". Forbes. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ "5 Non-Musical Influences on Bastille's Biography-Driven New Album "'&' (Ampersand)"". FLOOD. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ BASTILLEvideos (22 July 2024). Bastille Presents “&” Trailer. Retrieved 20 February 2026 – via YouTube.
- ^ Pilley, Max (26 July 2024). "Bastille's Dan Smith announces new album '&' and shares first four tracks". NME. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ "Bastille Releases Two New Songs "Blue Sky & The Painter" & "Leonard & Marianne" as "& (Ampersand), Part Two"". pm studio world wide news (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ Johnson, Laura. "Bastille Share Two New Tracks From '&', Announce Intimate Shows In UK, US And Europe - Stereoboard". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "Bastille's '&' Project Reaches a Poignant Conclusion with Part Four". Broken 8 Music. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ Forrest, Jo (15 August 2025). "Bastille Presents '&' (ampersand) Part 4 out now". TotalNtertainment. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ Jamieson, Sarah (18 August 2025). "Bastille's Dan Smith shares 'Part Four' of '& (Ampersand)' project". DIY. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ Ahmed, Narzra (24 October 2024). "Forging Connections: Bastille's Dan Smith On His New Projects | Features". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ "MUSES: an Ampersand Podcast". Dr Emma Nagouse. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ Jamieson, Sarah (25 October 2024). "Bastille - &". DIY. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ Zaveri, Jui (30 October 2024). "Album Review: "&" (Ampersand) // Bastille". The Indiependent. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ Barron, Michael (23 October 2024). "ALBUM REVIEW: Bastille – "&"". XS Noize. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ “&” (Ampersand) by Bastille on Apple Music, 25 October 2024, retrieved 25 February 2026
- ^ “&” (Ampersand), Part Four by Bastille on Apple Music, 15 August 2025, retrieved 25 February 2026