British band Bastille's latest album 'Bad Blood' has just been released in the US and frontman Dan Smith likes being on their first tour in America.
"We never thought we'd even be able to leave England with our music. It's very surreal to come to lots of different cities and different states and to see different pockets of America that we've always heard about and seen in films and tv shows that we never thought we'd see in the flesh."
Smith's songs are more historic tales of tragedy than boy-meets-girl angst.
The biggest single off the new album is 'Pompeii'. It tells the story of the ancient Roman town being buried in volcanic ash.
But Bastille's not without a sense of humor. In fact, one of the things the band is known for is doing amazing covers of other artists' songs.
They've taken on Lana Del Ray, TLC, Frank Ocean and Miley Cyrus.
"We chose that song as the cover we were going to do a while before the whole twerk-gate unveiled. So when it came to doing it, we wanted to just have fun with it and tell a bit of a story. I don't think there's any point in doing a cover unless you're really going to put your own stamp on it."
Bastille are touring the US now. And if you make one of the stops, expect to hear a song off of 'Bad Blood' and some surprising covers – minus the twerking.
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us raise $67,000 by the end of the year and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer to our goal!