"Third time around the Bloc"

Bloc Party - Intimacy

Record label: Atlantic Recods
Release date: Oct. 27, 2008
Produced by: Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth

Track listings:
1. Ares
2. Mercury
3. Halo
4. Biko
5. Trojan Horse
6. Signs
7. One Month Off
8. Zephyrus
9. Talons
10. Better Than Heaven
11. Ion Square
12. Letter to my Son
13. Your Visits are Getting Shorter
14. Flux

It’s amazing the type of pressure a band feels after releasing one incredible – critic and fan loved – album. Before Bloc Party’s debut album Silent Alarm in 2005, much had already been talked about the band – this was the supposed coming of “the next big thing.” And they did not disappoint. Raw and uninhibited, the album hit every major nerve and garnered endless praise.

So what to expect next? Well, everyone waited with anticipation for their follow-up raving that they could be the next U2 of sorts, and expecting their version of Boy. Well, expectations like that only set up failure. The quartet released A Weekend in the City last year to lackluster reviews and so-so fan response. But, people still held their breath for the album – the one that would catapult them above and beyond Silent Alarm. And if Bloc Party’s latest release Intimacy is supposed to be that album, then they did not get that memo.

Deviating from their last two releases, Intimacy introduces Bloc Party’s fondness for electronica elements. The opening track “Ares” begins with screaming guitars and punctuated drumming, before leaving room for Kele Okereke’s familiar voice to take over. This simply sets the groundwork for the album’s first single “Mercury.” Heavily produced, “Mercury’s in retrograde” repeats over and over, behind electro-beats, whirling bass lines and samples. This doesn’t quite tread the ground of LCD Soundsystem, but rather teeters on annoying. Thankfully they were able to combine this sound with the familiarity of their last two albums. “Biko” is a quiet, haunting track that allows Okereke’s voice to dance across minimal instrumentation, before a smattering of beats kick it to aid the movement of the 5-minute track. And for fans wanting a simple return to the past, songs like “Ion Square” and “One Month Off” should certainly please. While these selections are strong, it highlights a band in flux, almost uncertain in which direction to steer their ship, (contrast the aforementioned songs with “Flux,” the album’s closing track, to gain a greater understanding of their uncertainty).

Growth, maturity and change are always needed, but when it happens prematurely it’s obvious. We can call this Bloc Party’s awkward tween years – marked with growing pains (Mercury) and points of triumph (Biko). Perhaps their next album will trounce everything in discography, or maybe they’ll remain content hanging out in the comfortable groove of their musical chair. Whichever way they move, they’ve at least given us something to dance to, and that counts for something – right?


www.myspace.com/blocparty
www.blocparty.com