Other People’s Heartache, Pt. 4

Bastille have never been afraid to use other artists’ songwriting as a canvas. Since 2012, the Other People’s Heartache series has experimented with different sounds and genres through covers. While Pt. III veered away from covers, the UK quartet’s fourth installment returns to mash-ups and samples, parlaying garage, pop and R&B standards into a lo-fi, cinematic mixtape. Craig David opens En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go (Love)” with a misty-eyed croon before the track segues into Kianja’s honeyed vocals, and Rationale’s androgynous baritone oozes over a trance-like rendition of Sweet Female Attitude’s “Flowers.” The collection’s lone original, “Grip,” explores darker themes with a percussive build that shares DNA with Bastille’s own hit “Pompeii” and climaxes in a distorted chorus. Throughout, frontman Dan Smith’s vocals swirl and harmonize with those of his rap, dance, and soul guests—proving that the quirkier the collaboration, the better.