5 Things To Know About Bastille, Your New Favorite Band

By Stacy Lambe

January 24, 2014 / 12:00 PM

Performing on Saturday Night Live this week is the emerging rock band, Bastille. The English quartet is making waves here in the U.S. following the release of their buzzworthy debut album, Bad Blood. On the record, they've blended together an unique mix of rock, alt, EDM and R&B sounds. In 2013, the group scored a year-end charter with "Pompeii" and have been enjoying more radio play thanks to their latest offering, "Things We Lost in the Fire." With SNL about to expose to mainstream attention, it's time to get to know your new favorite band.

1. Bastille is big into history. The group's name is inspired by Bastille Day, which commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution. (It also also happens to be frontman Daniel Smith's birthday.) Meanwhile, several of the band's songs play on historical events: "Pompeii" is inspired by the Roman town engulfed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and "Icarus" plays on the character in Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun.

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2. The band loves covering other artists. Over the past few years, they have taken on tunes by City High, Miley Cyrus, Frank Ocean and TLC.

3. The band draws inspiration from the David Lynch TV series, Twin Peaks. "Laura Palmer" is the second UK single and is named after the show's ill-fated character. The video even plays on the images from the show with Smith in a rubber mask similar to Killer BOB.

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4. Bastille is in a short film with Rihanna. To be more exact: bassist William Farquarson and a Rihanna poster share an intimate moment in the film, La Ri En Rose.

— BASTILLE (@BASTILLEdan) January 16, 2014

5. The band is already working on their second album. According to Billboard, Bastille is recording new songs between tour dates. Fans attending live shows can expect to hear new music as they ready tracks for the next record. In the meantime, the group released "Of the Night," a mashup of "The Rhythm of the Night" and "Rhythm Is a Dancer," as a placeholder.

So jump on the Bastille bandwagon now, before you fall too far behind! Besides, any band (see above) that dresses up like the characters from Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou automatically deserve some love.

[Photo: Getty]