Here’s an exciting trivia fact to brighten your sad, tedious lives: indie five-piece Bastila took their name from a table football bar where they hung out during a holiday in the Czech Republic. This begs a number of questions. First off, why the fuck don’t we have something as awesome as ‘table football bars’ over here? Secondly, how tragically geeky is it that I assumed the name was lifted from a Jedi chick in the Knights of the Old Republic videogame? Lastly, we’re all busy people so could you cut out the whimsical shit and tell us if their new single, ‘Ghosts’, is any good? Well, yes. Yes, it is. Provided you don’t have an intense allergic reaction to all things post rock, then Bastila’s five minutes of guitar-laden shoe gazing definitely ticks all the boxes. ‘Ghosts’ could be the bookish older sister of a Eurodance floor filler, penning bittersweet poetry in her bedroom while her younger sibling is out on the town, knocking back the vodka and Relentless and pretending to be in Ibiza. Repetitive understated vocals and catchy, crystal clear guitar hooks stack to create a lushly hypnotic musical soundscape that draws the listener in and hugs them tight. Perhaps it’s ‘Ghosts’ dance-like qualities that explain why the pair of remixes accompanying the single are, for once, worth listening too – tweak the beat a little and our heroine can let her hair down and party with the best of them. Positioned at the popular, easily-accessible end of post rock, Bastila’s second single is like discovering a picture of an old girlfriend at the bottom of a drawer – comforting, nostalgic and ever so slightly melancholy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got something in my eye…
Whats the antidote for a bunch of musicians toying over a name to encase and fuse their talents together, and give their collective a name to really give the band a sense of beginning…so how do you concoct this ideal name? Go on the piss for a week in Prague, Czech Republic, frequent a pub specialising in table football called Bastila, and hey presto, what better name to adorn your music. In reality Bastila -a group of musicians who reside out of the Isle Of Wight- music is as rabid at times, as we‘re sure the holiday in question was- from the gypsy-folk jamboreees of opening tracks ‘You Can’t Catch Me’ and ‘The Slacker’ emitting like they‘ve been made in homage the nomadic looking gypo Gogol Bordello. And as brash as the openers are, its once the albums transformation into their mellower instrumental antics, that their sound breathes a classic indie sound (think Beggars), buffered with horn-infused sections, yet still not shirking their Celtic roots. And its once the Clapton-esque guitars of ‘Heart (don’t) Beat’ and Floydian guitar waltzes of ‘Ghosts’ that you start to wonder that this band really are more than just a product of a jolly boys outing. ‘Come Out And Fight’ is overflowing with flavoursome riffs and horns. Also, take note of ’Nothing To Tell’ and ’Dead End Town’ closing the album with added affluence. This self-titled debut albums shimmering production comes via the erstwhile Ride frontman Mark Gardener who has successfully captured Bastila’s vigorous zeal across onto record. A sublime debut, especially when it side steps the initial Gogol Bordello outtakes.
