5/10

When Bastille released their debut album 'Bad Blood' in 2013, it completely reinvigorated the British indie scene. While some bands have had trouble breaking through to the mainstream over the last couple of years, Bastille defied all the odds and became the golden goose that would stop laying guitar-based anthems. Three years on, and an endless time on the road, the band return with their second full-length 'Wild World', a record that should reflect their experiences over the last few years.

While they are obviously looking to create a similar album to their debut, this time it seems like they have taken themselves a bit too seriously on some of these tracks. Opening up with the gloriously fun 'Good Grief', the rest of the record seems to head down a road of either sickeningly cheesy pop or brooding electronica, neither of which seem to fit with their previous work or even each other. The album therefore comes across as a bit of a mixed bag that never really finds its feet.

Although there is plenty of radio-friendly ammo on here once agin, as a whole it never really gets itself into a good place. While the cliche of a difficult second album is more than justified here, it does seem that they have at least attempted to move their sound on. Even it doesn't pay off much of the time.