Dan Smith and Bastille return to Indiependence in Mitchelstown this July 

Bastille’s Dan Smith is the nice guy who finished first – eventually. Ten years ago, the UK pop band released their debut major-label single, Overjoyed. It was the beginning of a streak of hits that included Bad Blood and mega-smash Pompeii, which, with its “Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh” refrain, sounded like a song from Disney’s The Lion King if the Lion King featured lyrics by Cyberpunk guru William Gibson.

But their mix of pop, indie angst and shiny melodies did not go down well with critics at that time. They were savaged in the press, with George McFly-lookalike Smith mocked for his spiky, Beaker-from-the-Muppet Show hair (long since shorn). 

And yet, as we fast forward a decade, Bastille are still charging toward the horizon, with a summer festival appearance at Indiependence in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, on the way and an acclaimed new album, Give Me The Future, having come out in early 2022. Critics who used to love sticking in the boot have meanwhile fallen into a grumpy silence.

“People were confused by the fact we were four guys who looked like an indie band but weren't making making macho, brainless guitar music,” says Smith. 

“We would write weird songs about volcanoes and Icarus and Twin Peaks. People, particularly male critics, didn't get it.” 

He feels times have changed. Everyone is so much more open-minded about blending genres. Today, it’s perfectly acceptable to name a song after the mysterious victim in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks (as Bastille did with their single Laura Palmer). And not every rock frontman has to look like Liam Gallagher or Pete Doherty. We’ve had our fill of bad boys.

“Bastille can put the all-nighters in as good as anyone,” says Smith, insisting he and his band-mates have a party-animal streak to rival the best of them. “We just don’t shout about it and we don’t stumble through the gossip columns. We get on with our own shit, man. We’ve always done our best to not put ourselves out there.” 

The idea of a “rock star” as swaggering ne'er-do-well has at last and thank goodness, fallen away, he feels. 

“I totally think the idea of what a frontman or front person can be is different now. People are much less concerned with putting people into boxes in society in general. There is an understanding that everyone is nuanced and complicated. That applies as much to any kid growing up as it does to people on big stages.

Bastille were ahead of the curve in 2012 with their brainy, vulnerable songs. And they remain ambitious on Give Me The Future, which explores technological over-load whilst avoiding the dystopian cliches that tend to crop up when discussing our fraught relationship with our devices.

“Our phones, for example, they're amazing,” says Smith. “They can completely connect you with everybody. They are books, they are music, they are your link to the world. They can have all the research under the sun. It’s incredible. But they can also be totally toxic and addictive. And divisive. 

"It’s like everything in life. Nothing is black and white. Nothing is binary.” 

Smith had started writing the new record prior to Covid. But its themes of isolation and dependency on tech of course grew more newsworthy as the world shut down – of which he was made painfully aware as he and the group reconnected over zoom.

“Our third album is called Doom Days. It was about an all-night party where you're shutting the curtains to the apocalypse happening outside. So we came off the back of that tour into lockdowns and into what felt like an apocalypse. And so we wanted to make an album about escapism. Because of what we were all going through in the lockdown. I feel insanely lucky that we had music to work on. So many people weren't able to do their jobs. 

For us to be able to hunker down and work on Zoom. And to make this album that was all about escape – about imagining you're somewhere else. That was such an incredible tonic throughout a very strange period. 

"We wanted to make an album that does talk about stuff that's relevant and interesting. But which is also euphoric and makes you want to dance. It was a lifeline for us through a tough time.” 

Bastille have been back on tour since the start of the year and in April packed London’s 20,000-capacity O2 Arena. Smith does not think of himself as classic frontman material and, during Bastille’s rapid ascent, struggled in the spotlight. When lockdown lifted and they went back to touring, he found learning the rock star ropes all over again.

“Having not toured properly for two years… that’s the only gap we've ever taken since we started. It took us a minute to get back into it,” he says. “Because it’s such a bizarre specific way of working: living on a bus, travelling overnight, playing a show every day. But everyone in the band and crew were so excited to put together a show that expands on the world of the album.”

He’s referring to the elaborate production that accompanies the new tour – which Bastille will unveil to fans in Ireland when they play Indiependence, which takes place July 29 to 31. The show is a pop concert crammed with hits. 

Yet it also a stream-consciousness rumination on technology, with video interludes, and spoken word segments (the record features recital by rapper and actor Riz Ahmed). Stingier artists would have simply gone on stage in jeans and t-shirts. But it was important for Smith that the live experience communicate the project’s big ideas.

“We didn't have to go out and like build a huge set – make visuals for the entire thing, from top to bottom. For me as a fan of other artists and bands, I always think, ‘what would I want to see with this tour?’ That's what I want to see. I'm more than happy to go to an amazing gig that has a couple of lights and the band just playing their instruments. 

"But sometimes I want to be totally transported to another place. We also recently did an MTV Unplugged gig where it's just us on the stage. And that was fun and brilliant and amazingly rewarding. It’s nice to be able to jump between both.” 

Indie icons: Five artists to catch at Indiependence

Fatboy Slim:   Did someone say ‘Big Beat’ revival? With 1990s contemporaries The Chemical Brothers also due in Cork in 2022, Norman Cooke’s Indie headliner promises a carnival of nostalgia.

Rudimental:  The UK jungle collective will set Mitchelstown ablaze with their addictive rhythms and good vibes.

Daði Freyr: Iceland’s 2021 Eurovision entry brought homespun quirkiness to the competition – and his live show is fine-tuned with an agreeable line in zany humour.

Declan McKenna:  A heartfelt singer-songwriter with a twist, McKenna’s songs deal with such fraught topics as domestic abuse (Make Me Your Queen) and the 2015 Bataclan attacks (The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home).

The Academic: Westmeath indie five-piece renowned for their zinging melodies and songs that capture the ennui of the last days of a perfect summer.

Read MoreFestival round-up: 16 events ensuring a fun-filled summer for music fans

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