Yesterday, Thursday 20th August, Bloc Party released their new album, Intimacy, on the internet. The writing has been on the wall for a new sound from Bloc Party since the controversial single Flux and follow up Mercury in the same vein, which saw the band going in a more electro direction. Lead singer Kele made media comments which had several including NME guessing that this new sound was causing friction in the band, and may prove harmful to their continuation. Flux was said to draw inspiration from emerging music from JUSTICE among others, with Kele complaining that in order to have credibility bands had to play guitars, when he preferred messing about with synths and keys Little wonder that fans and industry alike were expecting something new and different from the Bloc Party boys.
Intimacy does not fail to deliver, the remixed layered sounds are front and centre in opener Ares, a soaring intro bleeds into a more familiar Bloc Party guitar track, and that unmistakable voice behind it all. Mercury finds its home as second track, followed by Halo, both of which continue the frantic pace of Ares, as if trying to prove that this new sound can sustain, while being familiar. Biko is a more reflective sound, more familiar to fans of Silent Alarm, with a quiet melodic riff playing under those considered lyrics. The respite does not last long, and Trojan Horse is straight back into the high energy sample filled “new” sound. Signs is a weak track relatively, but in a album I found this enjoyable, thats not a bad thing. One Month off is a catchy number, with a great crunchy bassline, Zepherus has an almost ethereal feel, probably due to the samples used near the middle of the track, which I shall leave for you to discover. Better Than Heaven and Ion Square close out the album, and reflect a more comfortable sound.
Two things to get out of the way, while these guys are making music in a different way, the Bloc Party elements are there front and centre. Little flourishes are different, but the atmosphere created by the album is still the same as one might get from Silent Alarm or A Weekend In The City. Also, these criticisms of an electro shift for this predominantly indie band are very much without foundation, tracks like Luno, She’s Hearing Voices, The Prayer and On are the precoursers of this album, and lets not forget the hugely popular Silent Alarm [Re-Mixed]. Bloc Party have always had this edge to their music, and don’t deserve much of the purist criticism.The handling of this album by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth has been excellent, the production vaues being clear despite the assault of sounds on, for example, Trojan Horse.
In all, this album was well worth the wait. While the eventual announcement was odd, and there is still more from this project to hear, on October 27th when the CD is released, this is a definite must as an antidote to a pretty lackluster summer of music. My verdict is a definite buy, but be sure to purchase the CD/Download combo. The reason, as good as this is, it does have that unfinished air about the album, that polish that previous releases had.
Buy it now at the Bloc Party webstore
