Bloc Party | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Equally inspired by Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Cure, East London art punkers Bloc Party mix angular sonics with pop structures. Consisting of singer/guitarist Kele Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist/singer Gordon Moakes, and drummer Matt Tong, the band was formerly known as Angel Range and Union before settling on Bloc Party. Okereke and Lissack met each other through mutual friends at the Reading Festival, and discovered that they had musical tastes as well as friends in common. Tong and Moakes soon joined their collaboration, and under the name Union, the quartet issued a demo in early 2003; later that year, they switched their name to Bloc Party. The groups demo and concerts began to attract attention from both the press and their peers; Okereke sent a copy of the demo to Franz Ferdinand, who invited them to play at the Domino tenth anniversary bash in fall 2003. Early the following year, the band released one of the demos tracks, "Shes Hearing Voices," as a single on Trash Aesthetics. A few months later, Banquet/Staying Fat arrived on Moshi Moshi. That spring, Bloc Party signed to Wichita to release their full-length album in the U.K., and to Dim Mak for U.S. distribution. The band spent summer 2004 recording and touring. Late that summer, Bloc Party, which collected the bands first two singles, arrived in the States. Their debut album, Silent Alarm, appeared early in 2005 and was released by Vice Records in the States to widespread acclaim. Later that year, Silent Alarm Remixed capitalized on the bands burgeoning popularity, as did the 2006 EP Helicopter. A Weekend in the City, Bloc Partys second proper album, followed in 2007. A Weekend in the City leaked onto the Internet months before the albums street date, which inspired Bloc Party to issue their third album, Intimacy, online in late summer 2008; the album was released on compact disc that fall. Late in 2009, Bloc Party went on hiatus and Okereke began working on songs on his own, moving to Berlin and collaborating with producers Hudson Mohawke and XXXchange in New York on a solo album. In 2010, the single Tenderoni arrived, revealing that Okerekes solo work was more dance-oriented than his music with Bloc Party. His full-length debut, The Boxer, arrived in summer 2010. Meanwhile, Moakes formed a side project, Young Legionnaire, with the Automatics Paul Mullen and La Rouxs William Bowerman. The following year, Bloc Party reunited to record their fourth album; that July, the lead single "Octopus" showed that the band had returned to the angular, guitar-heavy sound of its earlier work. Four arrived in August 2012. Tong left the band during its summer 2013 tour, and Bloc Party went on hiatus once the promotional duties for Four were finished. The bands contribution to !K7s mix series Tapes, which featured cuts by Wiley, Junior Boys, and Fela Kuti, arrived the following October. Early in 2015, Moakes announced that he had left Bloc Party. When the band returned that August, it included new members Justin Harris -- formerly of the band Menomena -- on bass and Louise Bartle on drums. The groups fifth album, Hymns, which featured a soulful, groove-driven rock approach, arrived in January 2016. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 15 Title: Bloc Party Released: 2004-05-24 Tracks: 6 Duration: 22:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Banquet (03:21) 2 Staying Fat (02:23) 3 She’s Hearing Voices (03:30) 4 The Marshals Are Dead (03:52) 5 The Answer (04:04) 6 Banquet (Phones disco edit) (05:24) |
 | Album: 2 of 15 Title: Silent Alarm Released: 2005-02-02 Tracks: 13 Duration: 50:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Like Eating Glass (04:21) 2 Helicopter (03:40) 3 Positive Tension (03:55) 4 Banquet (03:21) 5 Blue Light (02:47) 6 She’s Hearing Voices (03:29) 7 This Modern Love (04:25) 8 The Pioneers (03:35) 9 Price of Gasoline (04:19) 10 So Here We Are (03:52) 11 Luno (03:57) 12 Plans (04:10) 13 Compliments (04:42) |
| Silent Alarm : Allmusic album Review : Much more polished, serious, and straight-ahead than their initial EPs suggested, Bloc Partys debut album, Silent Alarm, reveals them as a band equally informed by taut art-punk and the grand gestures and earnestness of groups like Coldplay and U2. Though theyre not quite as stadium-sized expansive as either of those two bands (yet), Bloc Party sound a lot more comfortable making proclamations like "Positive Tension"s "Something glorious is about to happen/A reckoning!" than contemporaries like Franz Ferdinand or the Futureheads would be. Silent Alarm is also more varied than Bloc Partys early work indicated it might be, spanning edgy pop, atmospheric ballads, and angular, percussive tracks that are all served well by the albums big, layered production. The great single "Banquet" and even better opening track, "Like Eating Glass," put Bloc Partys heart-on-sleeve emotions in the service of tight, energetic songwriting that makes their earnestness a little easier to swallow. The gorgeous ballads also make the most of Bloc Partys emotional directness: "Blue Light," "This Modern Love," and "So Here We Are" are some of Silent Alarms finest moments, with a tension and impact that show how powerful even their softest songs can be. As both the band and albums names imply, Silent Alarm is an overtly political album. Bloc Party fare better than many other bands that dip into that fray, but the results are still mixed: the well-intentioned no-blood-for-oil sentiments of "Price of Gas" are heavy-handed, but "Helicopter"s Bush-bashing and the antiwar "Pioneers" ("We promised the world wed tame it/What were we hoping for?") are relatively subtle, and work fairly well as political pop manifestos. As dynamic as Silent Alarm is, its not perfect: Kele Okerekes yelpy vocals get a little grating on the less melodic songs, and the second half of the album doesnt quite sustain the momentum it had at the beginning, although the bonus remixes of "Plans" by Mogwai, and "Pioneers"" by M83 help make up for this. Although it wouldnt hurt if there were more "party" (the celebratory kind, not the political one) in Silent Alarm, its still a fine debut album with a lot of passion and polish; its hard not to respect, if not fully embrace, the intensity and integrity of Bloc Partys music. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 15 Title: Silent Alarm Remixed Released: 2005-08-29 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:30:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Two More Years (04:07) 2 Two More Years (edit) (03:44) 3 Banquet (The Streets mix) (03:47) 4 Hero (04:09) 1 Like Eating Glass (Ladytron Zapatista mix) (04:16) 2 Helicopter (Sheriff Whitey remix) (04:32) 3 Positive Tension (Blackbox remix) (04:25) 4 Banquet (Phones disco edit) (05:24) 5 Blue Light (Engineers ‘Anti‐Gravity’ mix) (03:00) 6 She’s Hearing Voices (Erol Alkan’s Calling Your dub) (08:22) 7 This Modern Love (Dave P. and Adam Sparkle’s Making Time remix) (05:01) 8 Pioneers (M83 remix) (05:49) 9 Price of Gasoline (Automato remix) (04:47) 10 So Here We Are (Four Tet remix) (06:26) 11 Luno (Bloc Party vs. Death From Above 1979) (03:55) 12 Plans (replanned by Mogwai) (03:42) 13 Compliments (Shibuyaka remix by Nick Zinner) (03:21) 14 Banquet (Cornelius remix) (11:47) |
 | Album: 4 of 15 Title: A Weekend in the City Released: 2007-01-24 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:13:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Song for Clay (Disappear Here) (04:49) 2 Hunting for Witches (03:31) 3 Waiting for the 7.18 (04:17) 4 The Prayer (03:45) 5 Uniform (05:32) 6 On (04:46) 7 Where Is Home? (04:54) 8 Kreuzberg (05:27) 9 I Still Remember (04:23) 10 Sunday (04:59) 11 SRXT (04:51) 12 Uniform (James Rutledge remix) (08:23) 13 Hunting for Witches (Fury666 remix) (03:38) 14 I Still Remember (Speaker Junk Bass Bin remix) (05:12) 15 Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles remix) (04:56) |
| A Weekend in the City : Allmusic album Review : From the post-post-punk of their early EPs to Silent Alarms sprawl of sounds and ideas, Bloc Party has never shied away from reinventing their music. They continue to evolve on A Weekend in the City, an unashamedly ambitious, emotional album that builds on where theyve been before but still feels like a departure. Silent Alarms eclecticism was one of its biggest strengths; not knowing exactly which Bloc Party you were going to get from song to song -- arty punks, unabashed romantics, or righteously angry rockers -- made for thrilling listening. They make the earnest, anthemic sound that was on the fringes of Silent Alarm the heart of A Weekend in the City, and it works remarkably well. It helps that the bands feelings are as focused as the music is. A Weekend in the City revolves around Kele Okerekes thoughts on life in 21st century London; in his eyes, its a few highs and moments of belonging, surrounded by a lot of loneliness and disappointment -- not to mention racism, homophobia, and religious hypocrisy. On A Weekend in the City, Bloc Party is sadder, wiser, and more heart-on-sleeve than ever -- almost embarrassingly so, especially when compared to their aloof post-punk influences. The albums opening salvo, "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)," immediately signals that vulnerable is the new brash: "I am trying to be heroic in an age of modernity," Okereke whispers, backed by tremulous keyboards and guitars. Even when the song unfolds into searing rock, it stays intimate and implosive. Okereke still sings like theres no time to waste, but his songwriting is tempered by experience. Hes become a striking lyricist, conveying ambivalence and yearning in remarkably direct terms. Over "Waiting for the 7:18"s wintry pizzicato strings and glockenspiel, he sings, "If I could do it again, Id climb more trees/Id pick and Id eat more wild blackberries"; on "Kreuzberg," he sums up the hollowness that follows a string of one-night stands: "What is this love? Why can I never hold it? Did it really run out in those strangers bedrooms?" The hopeful songs at the end of the album are just as eloquent, especially "I Still Remember," which wraps a complex attraction between two schoolboys in a sweet, almost singsong melody: "Every park bench screams your name/I kept your tie." Indeed, A Weekend in the City is often more remarkable for its emotional impact than its actual music, though Jacknife Lees lush, layered production suits the albums scope (and just happens to be very radio-friendly as well). Many of the songs follow a predictable formula of hushed verses and big choruses, and while Matt Tongs drumming adds some bite to the albums slickness, the riffs throughout A Weekend in the City are distressingly similar to each other (although "Hunting for Witches" depiction of thoughtless paranoia makes it a standout). A few tracks explore new sonic territory; not surprisingly, theyre the ones that convey druggy escapism. "On"s luminosity blurs the line between being high on drugs or a person, while "The Prayer" distills the ritualistic feel of dancing in a packed club with its massed vocals, heavy drums, and splattered guitars; later, "Where Is Home?" uses these sounds to express mournful anger instead of elation. Bloc Party fans who responded to their dark, angular art-pop might be disappointed, at least at first, with A Weekend in the City. This album isnt as brash or immediate as the bands earlier work, but its gradual move from alienation to connection and hope is just as bold as Silent Alarm, and possibly even more resonant. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 15 Title: A Weekend in the City: Live From Channel 4 and More Released: 2007-07-18 Tracks: 4 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Uniform (James Rutledge remix) (?) 2 Hunting for Witches (Fury666 remix) (?) 3 I Still Remember (Speaker Junk Bass Bin remix) (?) 4 Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles remix) (?) |
 | Album: 6 of 15 Title: Intimacy: Live at Tempelhof Released: 2008 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:11:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 One Month Off (04:25) 2 Hunting for Witches (03:11) 3 Positive Tension (04:02) 4 Blue Light (03:13) 5 Halo (03:31) 6 Song for Clay (05:11) 7 Banquet (03:30) 8 Signs (05:06) 9 Better Than Heaven (04:53) 10 Talons (05:44) 11 This Modern Love (04:39) 12 The Prayer (04:11) 13 Mercury (04:43) 14 Price of Gas (05:29) 15 Flux (04:21) 16 Helicopter (05:19) |
 | Album: 7 of 15 Title: Flux: The Remixes Released: 2008-05-21 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:09:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Flux (extended 12″ mix) (06:31) 2 The Prayer (Phones Metal Jackin’ mix) (05:03) 3 Hunting for Witches (Fury666 remix) (03:38) 4 Flux (JFK remix) (04:34) 5 I Still Remember (Sebastian remix) (04:30) 6 Uniform (James Rutledge remix) (08:23) 7 Where Is Home? (Burial remix) (05:31) 8 Flux (Metal on Metal remake) (05:02) 9 On (Principal Participant ‘Legs’ mix) (07:50) 10 The Prayer (Does It Offend You, Yeah? remix) (04:19) 11 Flux (GoodBooks Magnetism mix) (05:05) 12 I Still Remember (Music Box and Tears mix) (05:04) 13 Flux (03:37) |
 | Album: 8 of 15 Title: Intimacy Released: 2008-08-21 Tracks: 13 Duration: 56:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ares (03:29) 2 Mercury (03:53) 3 Halo (03:36) 4 Biko (05:01) 5 Trojan Horse (03:32) 6 Signs (04:39) 7 One Month Off (03:38) 8 Zephyrus (04:35) 9 Talons (04:42) 10 Better Than Heaven (04:21) 11 Ion Square (06:36) 12 Letter to My Son (04:26) 13 Your Visits Are Getting Shorter (04:21) |
| Intimacy : Allmusic album Review : Intimacy would have been a good name for Bloc Partys previous album, A Weekend in the City, which was so vulnerable and confessional that it often felt like barely edited diary entries set to music. The albums take on 21st century life and love was heavy listening in large part because it felt so personal. Bloc Partys mood is just as dark on Intimacy, which plays a lot like A Weekend in the Citys mirror twin: its a breakup album that gives personal situations a political heft. The similarities arent really that surprising, considering that Intimacy arrived just a year and a half after A Weekend in the City and also features production work by Jacknife Lee (as well as Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth). The album begins with two of Bloc Partys angriest, most experimental songs, which revisit the beat-heavy territory of A Weekend in the Citys "Prayer" with even more charged results. "Ares" is a modern-day war chant, with seething processed guitar lines fueled by huge pummeling drums, the likes of which havent been heard since the big beat heyday of the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy. "Mercury" is cleverly astrological, using a straight description of Mercurys retrograde conditions ("This is not the time to start a new love/This is not the time to sign a lease") as a springboard to a self-loathing rant set to wildly spiraling brass and more of those bludgeoning beats. Bloc Party push the envelope hard on both of these tracks, almost to the point of pretension, but not quite; actually, its a little anticlimactic when they return to more familiar terrain like "Halo," which could fit in easily among Silent Alarms angsty rockers. However, the band does find subtle ways to tweak and channel that angst: "Biko" (not the Peter Gabriel song) is dedicated to Kele Okerekes "sweetheart the melancholic," but when he sings that "youve got to toughen up," he sings it to himself as much as his lost love, and as the song closes with a swell of backing vocals, its clear that hes singing about more than something between two people. The band captures post-breakup obsession masterfully on the frosty yet strangely hopeful "Signs," where the way Okereke sings "I could sleep forever these days/Cause in my dreams I see you again" makes this kind of brooding almost as romantic as actually being in love. "Zephyrus" balances Intimacys heartbreak and experimental tendencies into a standout, setting snippets of an argument to strings, choral vocals, and sputtering rhythms. "Ion Square" ends the album on a somewhat uplifting note along the lines of Silent Alarms "So Here We Are" or A Weekend in the Citys "I Still Remember," and as good as it is, it underscores the albums push-pull between familiar sounds and breaking boundaries. At times, Intimacy feels rushed and predictable, and at others, its almost painfully ambitious. However, at its best, it balances Silent Alarms focus with A Weekend in the Citys expansiveness. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 15 Title: iTunes Live from London Released: 2008-10-27 Tracks: 6 Duration: 25:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Talons (04:20) 2 Signs (04:38) 3 Trojan Horse (03:40) 4 Waiting for the 7.18 (04:05) 5 Ares (03:15) 6 Ion Square (05:41) |
 | Album: 10 of 15 Title: Intimacy Remixed Released: 2009-05-11 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:05:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Ares (Villains remix) (05:31) 2 Mercury (Hervé Is in Disarray remix) (04:49) 3 Halo (We Have Band dub) (04:34) 4 Biko (Mogwai remix) (04:24) 5 Trojan Horse (John B remix) (06:53) 6 Signs (Armand van Helden remix) (05:46) 7 One Month Off (Filthy Dukes remix) (05:47) 8 Zephyrus (Phase One remix) (04:09) 9 Talons (Phones R.I.P. mix) (05:15) 10 Better Than Heaven (No Age remix) (03:00) 11 Ion Square (Banjo or Freakout remix) (04:24) 12 Letter to My Son (Gold Panda remix) (05:32) 13 Your Visits Are Getting Shorter (optothetic remix) (05:05) |
 | Album: 11 of 15 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2009 Released: 2009-07-27 Tracks: 6 Duration: 23:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Halo (03:38) 2 This Modern Love (04:30) 3 Blue Light (02:53) 4 Like Eating Glass (04:04) 5 The Prayer (03:54) 6 Flux (04:12) |
 | Album: 12 of 15 Title: Truth Released: 2012-02-25 Tracks: 1 Duration: 06:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Truth (Digitalism remix) (06:01) |
 | Album: 13 of 15 Title: Four Released: 2012-08-15 Tracks: 12 Duration: 43:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 So He Begins to Lie (03:34) 2 3x3 (02:39) 3 Octopus (03:06) 4 Real Talk (04:14) 5 Kettling (03:41) 6 Day Four (04:11) 7 Coliseum (02:29) 8 V.A.L.I.S. (03:20) 9 Team A (04:37) 10 Truth (04:00) 11 The Healing (04:19) 12 We Are Not Good People (03:20) |
| Four : Allmusic album Review : When Bloc Party went on a lengthy hiatus after the release of their third album Intimacy, it didnt seem like they needed to get back together. The bands members had moved on, with Kele Okereke releasing his solo album The Boxer and bassist Gordon Moakes forming the group Young Legionnaire. More importantly, it seemed like Bloc Party had said its piece, but Four -- an album title that reflects the years between the bands albums, the number of its members, and its place in Bloc Partys discography -- shows theres more life in their music than most would have predicted. The bands from the post-punk/angular movement of the early 2000s that thrived were the ones who evolved; Bloc Party knew this as early as A Weekend in the City, when they began adding more electronic elements to their sound. This led to some strong moments on that album and Intimacy, but it also felt somewhat obligatory, following the Radiohead-blueprint way for a forward-thinking rock band to push itself. Yet Bloc Party push harder on these songs than they have in years, and theres barely a synthesizer or sequencer to be found. Four is far harder-edged than any of their music since Silent Alarm or their early EPs, and they spend equal time in familiar territory and breaking new ground. "So He Begins to Lie," with its lumbering, angular riffs and political overtones, could have easily appeared on their debut, while "V.A.L.I.S." and the excellent single "Octopus" distill everything great about their pop side -- precise melodies, spring-loaded guitars, expertly deployed tension and release -- into songs that seem poised for flight. Meanwhile, ballads such as "Day Four" and "Truth" are pretty but a touch predictable, serving more as breathers between the albums onslaughts than as attractions in their own right. Fours real star is guitarist Russell Lissack, who unleashes hesher-friendly riffs and solos with the pent-up fury of a four-year break behind him. He gives "Team A"s menacing dance-punk extra heft and fuels "3 x 3"s anguished tug-of-war with churning riffs that make it one of the albums most thrilling moments. Things get even gnarlier on "Kettling," which boasts surging riffs that recall P.O.D. and other X Games favorites, and on "Coliseum," which begins as a bluesy shuffle and ends as a metallic grind that would do Helmet proud. Its awkward, but its also interesting and completely unlike anything theyve done before. Songs like this and the albums closing rant "Were Not Good People" show just how much fight there is in this album, and in Bloc Party; they sought new life in their music and their collaboration, and they found it. Four may not be as cohesive as Silent Alarm, but it just might be more vital. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 15 Title: The Nextwave Sessions Released: 2013-08-12 Tracks: 6 Duration: 19:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Ratchet (03:18) 2 Obscene (03:44) 3 French Exit (02:52) 4 Montreal (04:39) 5 Children of the Future (03:07) 6 X-Cutioner’s Song (02:01) |
 | Album: 15 of 15 Title: Hymns Released: 2016-01-29 Tracks: 11 Duration: 47:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Love Within (04:37) 2 Only He Can Heal Me (04:04) 3 So Real (03:23) 4 The Good News (03:49) 5 Fortress (04:38) 6 Different Drugs (05:26) 7 Into the Earth (03:59) 8 My True Name (05:34) 9 Virtue (03:57) 10 Exes (04:04) 11 Living Lux (04:06) |
| Hymns : Allmusic album Review : For most of their career, it seemed like Bloc Party could incorporate just about any sound into their music and still sound like themselves: On Weekend in the City and Intimacy, they added electronic elements to their razor-sharp dance-punk with anthemic results, and flirted with grunge and metal when they returned to jackknifing riffs and rhythms on Four. However, the biggest risk they take on Hymns might be continuing under the Bloc Party name. Between Four and this album, drummer Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes left the group and were replaced by Louise Bartle and former Menomena member Justin Harris. While the new members dont sound like hired hands, the way Moakes and Tongs taut, astringent playing balanced Kele Okerekes earnestness is missed on Hymns. Indeed, Okerekes fondness for soaring choruses and meditations on sex, drugs, and faith -- and how they often blur together -- provide the main connection to the bands previous work. However, from the albums title to its lyrics, Hymns expressions of searching and salvation are more overt than ever. Backed by slide guitars and a stomping beat, Okereke sings "I used to find my answers in the Gospels of St. John/Now I find them in the bottom of a shot glass" on "The Good News," and the results are both heavy-handed and not hard-hitting enough. Hymns ballads are some of its strongest moments, and, not coincidentally, the most reminiscent of Bloc Party 1.0 and Okerekes solo career. "My True Name" and "Fortress" serve as reminders that their plaintive melodies and soul-baring are still potent, while "Different Drugs" chemically enhanced portrait of being alone together recalls Bloc Partys highest emotional peaks. When the band attempts to branch out, the results are mixed: "So Real" and "Into the Earth" are intimate, guitar-driven sketches that make the most of Hymns more straightforward sounds and emotions, but the bubbling "The Love Within" feels simplistic instead of euphoric. Ultimately, Hymns finds Bloc Party stuck between a fresh start and continuing their legacy, leaving their identity -- which once seemed so distinctive -- compromised. | ||