Blog.WBRU

Bloc Party is a difficult band to categorize. With styles that range from the harsh but highly danceable post-punk realities of their 2005 debut Silent Alarm to the gloomily aggressive ballads of A Weekend In The City, they manage to simultaneously hook new fans and frustrate old ones like no other. Although the band’s potential is audible on both albums, they keep stumbling restively through various genres in search of a fitting niche, never quite honest with themselves.  What great news it was, then, when it was announced earlier this year that Bloc Party’s upcoming third release was to be named Intimacy? Could it be that Kele Okereke and his troupe finally found themselves and were ready to present to us their very own, carefully matured brand of alt-rock?

Although not quite what was expected, Intimacy starts off with a bang: ‘Setting Sun’ by The Chemical Brothers mashed up with guitar unusually ragged guitar riffs on the track ‘Ares’ . Russel Lissack’s Telecaster, in fact, sounds more like an industrial size grinder than a musical instrument and Matt Tong’s drum work is reminiscent of a slack joint jackhammer. Even Kele Okereke’s vocals present themselves as just another industrial tool used in the assembly of this song. Paradoxically, the result sounds highly individual and Okereke’s alienating vocals tell a better and more credible story than any of the lachrymose poetry from A Weekend In The City.

The second song and first single release off the CD, ‘Mercury’, continues in the same vein but trades some of its audacity for a constricted almost-melody and repetitive lyrics. Nevertheless, you have to give Bloc Party credit for daring to move beyond the ambitious, clean and slightly too straightforward sounding rock of their previous albums. For the first time ever, they are truly breaking new ground.

The experimental all-out approach of the first two songs is quickly forgotten on the second half of the album. Songs like ‘Biko’ and ‘Trojan Horse’ follow all too well known patterns and are sure to please Silent Alarm purists.

Fortunately, producer Paul Epworth’s influence on the album becomes much more apparent as we move further into the album and away from Bloc Party’s usual sound. The delicate samples of ‘Signs’ and synth layers of ‘Zephyrus’ especially carry Epworth’s signature and are positive statements, refreshingly different from anything the band has done before. ‘Talon’ and ‘Better than Heaven’, on the other hand are perfect examples of Bloc Party’s inconclusiveness. Like the album itself, both songs pull in so many directions at once that they just cancel each other out. What remains are the usual dominant guitar parts, some clever electronic inlays and a hint of existential angst.

This unanticipated aftertaste of existential fear is the essence of Bloc Party’s new album. Vastly proportioned titles like ‘Mercury’, ‘Halo’ or ‘Ion Square’ on an album named Intimacy leave an image of helplessness in a cold and distant world, similar to (but not as consequent as) Radiohead’s Ok Computer. Where Radiohead’s masterpiece depicts the human vanishing in anonymity, Intimacy’s cover art shows the namelessness within the human: two lips about to kiss, photographed from an irritating close-up angle, with all distinguishing features or facial expressions cropped out of the picture.  In a way, this cover art is a metaphor for the entire album; like the nameless lovers failing to fully embrace, Bloc Party comes so close to scoring big with their experimental sound, but ultimately fall short of the mark.

Although Bloc Party haven’t quite found their musical niche yet, they have expressed a purpose to reject existing pigeon holes and forge their own path. Although that path may not yet be clear with this album, Camden’s favorite five are one step closer.