It has been a busy four years in the life of Bloc Party, the indie rock/pop band that has steadily spread their fun-loving British sound across the globe. On Oct. 27, the band released its third album, "Intimacy," showing a fundamental shift in the group's sound and style of music. Change has always permeated their new releases, though, and fans can rest assured that Bloc Party is still awesome. Some fresh songs off of "Intimacy" will soon be heard being awkwardly sung from behind shower doors and unintelligibly screamed at the next dance party.
Formed in 1999 by lead singer Kele Okereke and lead guitarist Russell Lissack, the band has been rapidly gaining popularity ever since. Bloc Party's first album, "Silent Alarm" (2005), is a fine marriage of indie and pop, featuring some of the catchiest lyrics in contemporary music. The beauty of the band's earlier work was in its simplicity and its ability to never take itself too seriously. Okereke clearly wanted to make Bloc Party as appealing and accessible as possible, and he succeeded in a big way.
The tragedy that must come along with such an amazing first release, however, is the inevitable comparison to the second, and in this sense, the band didn't fare so well. "A Weekend in the City," (2007) while still enjoyable, fell far short of the older and ultimately more fun Bloc Party. Okereke took the "Spiderman" (2002) line about "great power ... great responsibility" far too seriously, using the band's epic success to infuse their songs with political and ethical philosophy. While expressing one's beliefs through art isn't a bad thing by any means, it was quite the shock following the more easy-going topics of girls and love found in such songs off the first album as "This Modern Love" and "She's Hearing Voices." Thankfully, "Intimacy" has gone back to those foundations.
Despite the feelings of nostalgia evoked by listening to "Intimacy"'s "Trojan Horse," some hefty changes have been made. An electro flare makes a strong appearance in many of the tracks, adding what can only be described as a "dance vibe" to Bloc Party's growing list of genre tags. Samples and synthesizers are now commonplace, providing backdrops to the guitars, or leading the tempo with speedy techno lines. There is even a gothic choir played over a drum machine in "Zephyrus," and, amazingly, it doesn't sound terrible. Though the thought of Bloc Party making semi-club music might provoke nightmares in some listeners, never fear; the new changes work well and consistently.
Okereke's stale and unnecessarily complex lyrics from "Weekend" are also, thankfully, absent. His unsuccessful falsetto has all but disappeared, and Okereke sings either softly and slowly or loudly and fast, the perfect combinations of tempo and volume for his irresistible accent. As heard in "Ion Sphere", love and relationships are back in focus, with Okereke's poetic lyrics perfectly driving the songs along.
While some of the songs tend to blend into one another due to similar tempos and Okereke's limited vocal range, a couple of tracks are downright beautiful. "Signs" and "Ion Square" really stand out in the light, poppy realm, and "Talons" utilizes the electronic instruments in a remarkably original combination of genres.
While this album doesn't quite nail the consistency or the danceable tunes found in "Silent Alarm," it is a great compilation and marks a positive step forward in Bloc Party's evolution. Old fans can rejoice -- the quirky band with an irresistible pop sensibility that listeners fell in love with a few years ago is back. With 14 tracks and a whole lot of British awesome, this CD will soon have a lockdown on anyone's headphones.
