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- Bloc Party »
Date: 14/06/2004
What to say? Where to begin? Bloc Party have been cosseting your ears for a matter of months now, and they’re one of those so hot right now bands. And rightfully so. But this is a plead for clemency; end your fashonista love, ignore your Face-endorsed interest, submerge your pre-major album release oneupmanship. Open your eyes and tune your ears. Bloc Party are the real deal.
Even to use that phrase seems wrong, sullying somehow; to attach labels or even to propel them forwards is unnecessary. It will happen, it is happening. Spare them Jonathon Ross.
Tonight’s gig at the Islington Academy is a case in point. As we sweat in the bowels of an over-furnished room, beset by expensive branded drinks and surrounded by chattering Von Dutch devotees, we stand in anticipation for a band that has already circumnavigated the sharks of cool; for inside the eye of the storm is beauty, serenity, peace and purpose.
Already, last month’s Bloc Party is old Bloc Party. The ideas overflowing from the band today in their new songs is overwhelming. The re-design and reaffirmation of their old material leaves original recordings obsolete and skeletal. It seems that currently, Bloc Party are racing against time to fulfil their own potential. It’s quite scary.
Hence, The ‘Marshalls Are Dead’ has been transformed from a wiry, sparse eulogy to sloganeering into a juggernaut of a manifesto; Gordon Moake ‘s bass is seismic and enveloping, while Kele Okereke* contorts what used to be a fearsome yelp into an authoritative emote, full of fury, control and purpose. ‘She’s Hearing Voices’ is otherworldly in its delivery; furious, confrontational and so, so danceable. Russell Lissack sets the song alight with the sort of guitar pyrotechnics that belie his pubescent Bernard Butler look and hints toward the avant-garde genius of Jonny Greenwood. ‘Banquet’ is greeted like the musical event it is; and Kele pounds through it with breakneck speed, transforming it into a urgent hymn to disjointed love, underpinned by the jaw-dropping drumming of *Matt Tong. ‘This Modern Love’ is a song built of Liquid Gold, whilst an ecstatic, joyful ‘Little Thoughts’ is wide-eyed euphoric and propulsive.
The new songs offer a glimpse into Bloc Party’s future; raging beasts full of monitor-shattering guitar precision and convulsive rhythm. Like old Bloc Party, but everything more so, like old Bloc Party but oh-so new and oh-so exciting. Heady times. Unfortunately, new songs mean no ‘The Answer’, no ‘Like Eating Glass’, no ‘Staying Fat’, but…
Fears? That no band can hit a run like this forever without careering off the tracks, crashing into a brick wall because they just couldn’t stop. Like a genius scientist whose brain engorges itself with knowledge and greatness before finally exploding.
Slow down Bloc Party, you’re leaving us breathless and winded.
But oh so good.
Photo by Sonia Melot
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Bloc Party
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Bloc Party
ARGHHHH bloody bloc party again!
Bloc Party
Theyre alright... I'd rather you rave about them than various others (e.g. the pixies). Really not sure they deserve all this fuss tho!
Bloc Party
Heathens!! They so do deserve the fuss. They are brilliant, end of!
Bloc Party
yeah bloc party are ace, I have seen them twice now and will definitley be seeing them again when they play Reading. The only thing wrong with them is that I can't find a copy of any of their ep's anywhere.
Re: Bloc Party
theres no need to buy an ep. make your own bloc party song.
from the one i've seen on mtv it is simple.
turn up treble on guitar. learn some ska chords and then play them in a different rythm (i'm not actually musically so i wont give you the timing... im sure you can work it out)
for the bass get a jazz musician to play fairly laid back.
add some wailing and you are away!
from the one i've seen on mtv it is simple.
turn up treble on guitar. learn some ska chords and then play them in a different rythm (i'm not actually musically so i wont give you the timing... im sure you can work it out)
for the bass get a jazz musician to play fairly laid back.
add some wailing and you are away!
Re: Bloc Party
so you've heard one of their songs, it has some off-beat guitar and jazzy bass and free vocals. wow. youve got the band pegged.
Bloc Party
don't rate them. pure and simple. to see those powerful words written about them is a shame because they don't speak any truths in my opinion.
i don't like a sound if it's not clean... (unless they're an extrordinary band- bloc party are not)
i don't like a sound if it's not clean... (unless they're an extrordinary band- bloc party are not)
Bloc Party
oh yeah and the sound of the vocalist makes me wince like fingernails down a black board. not to mention that the timing sounds all wrong.
anyway
anyway
Re: Bloc Party
you fail at life.
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a fantastic band, amazing live, can't wait for their debut album!
Bloc Party
Come to a gig. That's all I say. All bands put singles with short blasts of the ideas that work over three and a half minutes. It's obvious. You have to see a band play to get the full story.
As for truth, that's up to you. What do you define as truth? The Libertines? No thanks. The Vines? No thanks. Give me a band who can play and have an ounce of an idea an don't simply sound like it is 1981, or 1995, or 1978, or fucking 1974. Give it a rest.
As for truth, that's up to you. What do you define as truth? The Libertines? No thanks. The Vines? No thanks. Give me a band who can play and have an ounce of an idea an don't simply sound like it is 1981, or 1995, or 1978, or fucking 1974. Give it a rest.
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are tremendous. They make tight, well-constructed songs with intelligent content. They have an amazing drummer, a captivating frontman and sound awesome live. If you don't like them, you've missed the boat. And are possibly deeply boring. They're one of the two best live bands around in London at the mo...
Re: Bloc Party
and t'other?
Re: Bloc Party
actually i've seen them live twice on support slots and never really remembered any of it - hence i assume they made no notable impression on me.
and anyhow if the person meant they wanted that song then i wouldnt be far off wrong would i :-P
and anyhow if the person meant they wanted that song then i wouldnt be far off wrong would i :-P
Bloc Party
Gord,
What's wrong with 1974, you petulant bassist!
Right, see you at Stanstead.
Matthew x
What's wrong with 1974, you petulant bassist!
Right, see you at Stanstead.
Matthew x
Re: Bloc Party
I've never heard of 'em, but is it New Rhodes?
Bloc Party
Yes. I wondered how you´d got that, then realised that my rating history kind of gives it away. And BP/NR are touring together in Autumn. With Mystery Jets, who are also pretty interesting, like Roxy Music meets Ian Dury and The Blockheads. Dressed in Dress Shirts. Hmmmm.
Bloc Party
bill-fl - "They're one of the two best live bands around in London at the mo..."
oh yeah, i forgot. london is the epi-centre of the world. get over it, there's more to british music than that cesspit
oh yeah, i forgot. london is the epi-centre of the world. get over it, there's more to british music than that cesspit
Bloc Party
Ha! That's what I thought before I moved to London! A sad fact, but true, to paraphrase the great Morrissey. And what would/should I know about the live scene in Rickmansworth, Telford or Chichester, pray tell?
London has been musically red-hot for about 9 or 10 months, it's great.
London has been musically red-hot for about 9 or 10 months, it's great.
Re: Bloc Party
YAY
finally someone else to plug mjs with me.
go! to mysteryjets.com
download! their last single from said site.
be! excited! be! be! excited!
finally someone else to plug mjs with me.
go! to mysteryjets.com
download! their last single from said site.
be! excited! be! be! excited!
Re: Bloc Party
Mystery Jets page finally added to DiS for y'all to go rating.
Biog 'n' shit to follow.
Biog 'n' shit to follow.
Bloc Party
bloc party are ... vital
Re: Bloc Party
you like limp bizkit and rancid so your opinion doesnt count...
Re: Bloc Party
they WILL be excited.
seriass.
seriass.
Re: Bloc Party
err
I haven't really made an opinion on the band, other than they aren't very memorable. As it goes I'd rather listen to them than most of the other crap on MTV2, all I was merely commenting on is that the song I have seen on MTV2 isn't particularly anything groundbreaking.
I stand by that Limp Bizkit are probably the most entertaining band I have ever seen live
And Rancid are the best band ever. EVER
I haven't really made an opinion on the band, other than they aren't very memorable. As it goes I'd rather listen to them than most of the other crap on MTV2, all I was merely commenting on is that the song I have seen on MTV2 isn't particularly anything groundbreaking.
I stand by that Limp Bizkit are probably the most entertaining band I have ever seen live
And Rancid are the best band ever. EVER
Bloc Party
Personally, I think Bloc Party rock! And Leeds is currently the best place for music, you can't throw a brick into a crowd without hitting somebody who is in a band.
Re: Bloc Party
hope so, they're ace!! you need to hear of them, and soon.
Re: Bloc Party
but...they're fucking... GOOD.
x
gen
x
gen
Re: Bloc Party
how can you possibly suggest that rancid are better than the clash, when they rip them off SO directly?
Re: Bloc Party
really not the best sign.
and its like that in london.
and its like that in london.
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are Good, I'll give them that, I like both their singles a lot, but I can't see what so revolutionary & groundbreaking about them? They make a good sound, but its nothing that hasn't been done before. They're just very good at what they do. Or am I missing the point?
Re: Bloc Party
they havent created anything in itself new, but combined things really fucking well, fucking passionately, skillfully and in a matter that doesnt suggest copyism as much as reinterpretation.
and they have low pitch backing vocals that are so simple but sound so damn arty.
they kick.
and they have low pitch backing vocals that are so simple but sound so damn arty.
they kick.
Bloc Party
I've heard one of their songs (can't remember the title), and it sounds... weel, as usual... I mean, for 3 years or so, it seems the coolest thing to do to quote Gang Of Four or Joy Division - OK, these groups are undoubtedly awesome. But many other great acts from the new wave era are shamefully forgotten : remember The Stranglers' La Folie, Wall Of Voodoo's Call Of The West, The Feelies' Crazy Rhythms, remember Squeeze and Orange Juice, Devo, the Scottish bands from Postcard label (Fire Engines for instance). I know we're drowned in the post-modern times, but... let's have a renewal on our revivalist trend, don't you think so ? To me, Bloc Party = The Liars = TV On The Radio = Hot Hot Heat, because they all seem to listen to the same stuff...
Re: Bloc Party
he also rates Lost Prophets and InMe uehhehe
Re: Bloc Party
i can see why they chose little thoughts as their next single, but its not the best example of what this band is capable of. i was hoping ´like eating glass´ would be their next single. i have seen them the last two times they played london and there was an electricity in the air that ive not seen at many gigs b4. they fuse lots of different ideas and they keep going. i just cant wait for the album
Re: Bloc Party
whats the option glee9, sound like cast or oasis? pop music is built around cycles, by paying homage to the music that influenced you. its what you do with that info thats important. i feel that they have successfully built upon their new wave influences and i just cant wait for their album to be out
Bloc Party
Well dont really care much if other people dont like Bloc Party, i'm only out to satisfy myself. (yeah a selfish tw*t). and must say Im extremely satisfied with Bloc Party... they're music may not be revolutionary, but its damn good. i love the words to the music. for me its very powerful...
Bloc Party
I saw Bloc Party @ the Liverpool 'Love Music Hate Racism' gig at the Academy on 30th May. It was a big space which they filled with sound. I was so impressed I went to see them again on 4th June @ Heebie-Jeebies also in Liverpool.
EBGB's looks like a converted coal cellar with barrel vaulted ceilings just like the Cavern Club. The stage was hardly raised at all & the audience stood right in front of the band creating a very intimate atmosphere. I was stood right next to the guitarist when they played 'Banquet'. 'Positive Tension' and 'Little Thoughts' were the highlights. I got the impression that the audiences were unfamiliar with their material. No one sang along and few people danced. That may soon change if they continue to live up to the hype.
They used quite strange effects on the guitars. A friend of mine described them as 'using their guitars like synths'. Very innovative.
As mentioned above they have a very tight live sound due, in part, to their brilliant drummer.
I spoke with the band after the show and they said they would be recording their first album in January next year. Looking forward to that.
I will also mention that their guitarist gave me the limpest handshake anyone has ever given me but, after all, he probably gets sick of shaking drunken morons' hands after gigs.
EBGB's looks like a converted coal cellar with barrel vaulted ceilings just like the Cavern Club. The stage was hardly raised at all & the audience stood right in front of the band creating a very intimate atmosphere. I was stood right next to the guitarist when they played 'Banquet'. 'Positive Tension' and 'Little Thoughts' were the highlights. I got the impression that the audiences were unfamiliar with their material. No one sang along and few people danced. That may soon change if they continue to live up to the hype.
They used quite strange effects on the guitars. A friend of mine described them as 'using their guitars like synths'. Very innovative.
As mentioned above they have a very tight live sound due, in part, to their brilliant drummer.
I spoke with the band after the show and they said they would be recording their first album in January next year. Looking forward to that.
I will also mention that their guitarist gave me the limpest handshake anyone has ever given me but, after all, he probably gets sick of shaking drunken morons' hands after gigs.
Re: Bloc Party
yea well done you arsehole -
if you're gonna insult a band, at least do it properly -
anyone (and i mean anyone) can slag off any band in exactly the same way you did.
just wanted to say that was pretty weak.
if you're gonna insult a band, at least do it properly -
anyone (and i mean anyone) can slag off any band in exactly the same way you did.
just wanted to say that was pretty weak.
Re: Bloc Party
Any band that go 'b b b back' or 'm m m m (insert what's after the m m m's here) in their first two singles make me want to stab forks in their eyes. Even if they are from down the road.
The wee chinese drummer certainly knows his kit though. Other than that - what the fuck is all the fuss about?
The wee chinese drummer certainly knows his kit though. Other than that - what the fuck is all the fuss about?
Re: Bloc Party
bloc party are queenly, i found a site with their ep, i'll post it when i remember it!
Bloc Party
New Rhodes superior, Bloc Party inferior.
I do like bloc party very much but i just hear too much emo in it for it to really do something for me. She's hearing voices is colossal though. And i frickin' hate the term 'Art-rock' it's the most pretentious puddle of codswallop i've ever heard. New Rhodes are completely different to Bloc Party but have a brilliant style, they're lovely lads, aren't trying to be part of any scene and write some of the most cracking pop tunes i've heard in a long while... will we see a feature on them here soon? I hope so...
I do like bloc party very much but i just hear too much emo in it for it to really do something for me. She's hearing voices is colossal though. And i frickin' hate the term 'Art-rock' it's the most pretentious puddle of codswallop i've ever heard. New Rhodes are completely different to Bloc Party but have a brilliant style, they're lovely lads, aren't trying to be part of any scene and write some of the most cracking pop tunes i've heard in a long while... will we see a feature on them here soon? I hope so...
Re: Bloc Party
is that some sort of joke. new rhodes have been going for ages, im seen them loads of times no wonder that they have not been signed. there are just too derivative they sound like the strokes, the smiths and interpol, but they just dont add anything to it at all. they seem like nice people but they need some proper ideas. bloc party arent the most original band but they combine interesting ideas and keep it exciting. and whats wrong with emo anyway?
Re: Bloc Party
if you don't know what's wrong with emo there's really no point in explaining it.
Re: Bloc Party
Did you have to ask permission from the NME to use that description of New Rhodes? I only ask, cos I can't hear one iota of Interpol in anything they've ever done, ever.
Yeah, they sound a bit like the Strokes, and yeah, they sound a bit like the Smiths. Do the Strokes sound like the Smiths? Of course not. So whats wrong with fusing the sound of one of the best bands of the 1980s with one of the best bands of them erm, noughties, for want of a better word to make something that is kind of derivative but also fairly original. I can't think of a single other band that New Rhodes actually sound like, all of the time.
As for going for ages, a) they haven't been, unless you count the first absolutely directionless year after they formed at school where they didn't exactly know what they were doing in the whole being a band and writing songs thing, musically proficient as they were, and b) is that a crime? They've spent nearly three years working on their songs and sound now, and i don't care what you think, they're fucking good now. So there. And they're getting better all the time.
Too derivative to get signed? You are having a laugh with that, aren't you? New Rhodes have a damn sight more originality than someone like The Ordinary Boys or the 22/20s. I only use those two examples because they're utterly, utterly derived and utterly, utterly signed, too.
I really, really like Bloc Party too. They are fantastic, original, and dead exciting to listen to/watch. So at least we agree on something.
Yeah, they sound a bit like the Strokes, and yeah, they sound a bit like the Smiths. Do the Strokes sound like the Smiths? Of course not. So whats wrong with fusing the sound of one of the best bands of the 1980s with one of the best bands of them erm, noughties, for want of a better word to make something that is kind of derivative but also fairly original. I can't think of a single other band that New Rhodes actually sound like, all of the time.
As for going for ages, a) they haven't been, unless you count the first absolutely directionless year after they formed at school where they didn't exactly know what they were doing in the whole being a band and writing songs thing, musically proficient as they were, and b) is that a crime? They've spent nearly three years working on their songs and sound now, and i don't care what you think, they're fucking good now. So there. And they're getting better all the time.
Too derivative to get signed? You are having a laugh with that, aren't you? New Rhodes have a damn sight more originality than someone like The Ordinary Boys or the 22/20s. I only use those two examples because they're utterly, utterly derived and utterly, utterly signed, too.
I really, really like Bloc Party too. They are fantastic, original, and dead exciting to listen to/watch. So at least we agree on something.
Re: Bloc Party
Yay Bloc Party are fantabulous!!- ok I've made that judgement on the basis of two songs but what the hey, they haven't dissapointed yet.
Re: Bloc Party
bloc party arent an emo band but dubious dress sense asied whats wrong with being serious and meaning what u are singing about?
Re: Bloc Party
Art-rock. Rock as an art form. As you describe a painting as a work of art, or a piece of creative writing, or a sculpture, as art. What's wrong with that?
I presume the argument is that to qualify rock music with the prefix 'art' is pretentious, because it seeks to draw a line between itself and the popular (vernacular, you could say - I'd describe that as Stereophonics, or Travis, music that is earnest, crafted and aspires to nothing more than being whistled along to). Art aspires to beauty and originality. Art is good. Art rock is good rock, to my mind.
Rock is pretentious, arguably more pretentious than any other art form (so let's argue about it). It's full of half-educated, half-intuitive manifestos, groups who see themselves as fundamentally better than everything else around them. Of course it's pretentious. It is also glorious.
I have to say that I don't consider Bloc Party to be all that. Didn't enjoy their recent live set in Manchester at all. They sounded a bit Clashy on Peel when I heard 'em, but live they just sounded limp.
I presume the argument is that to qualify rock music with the prefix 'art' is pretentious, because it seeks to draw a line between itself and the popular (vernacular, you could say - I'd describe that as Stereophonics, or Travis, music that is earnest, crafted and aspires to nothing more than being whistled along to). Art aspires to beauty and originality. Art is good. Art rock is good rock, to my mind.
Rock is pretentious, arguably more pretentious than any other art form (so let's argue about it). It's full of half-educated, half-intuitive manifestos, groups who see themselves as fundamentally better than everything else around them. Of course it's pretentious. It is also glorious.
I have to say that I don't consider Bloc Party to be all that. Didn't enjoy their recent live set in Manchester at all. They sounded a bit Clashy on Peel when I heard 'em, but live they just sounded limp.
Re: Bloc Party
I'd say, bad idea for band members to come on msg boards; inviting trouble on yrself. Let the plebs get on with debating what you do and rise above it.
Re: Bloc Party
Yeah, i wasn't disputing the idea that rock music, or any type of music for that matter, can be classified as 'art' (which is where the whole "what is art?" question could come into play), it was more the fact that there are a number of contemporary bands who seem to consider themselves more "arty" than others. Maybe that's a bit harsh... it's normally NME journos calling them art-rock rather than the bands themselves... at least i hope that's the case.
While they may aspire to it, hardly any of the so-called art-rockers actually accomplish anything of beauty or originality. Well, beauty perhaps, as that's in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. But nothing's really original - in rock music especially. I do think Bloc Party/Franz etc are wicked at times, but i wouldn't say original. Individual maybe, but not original. Whereas (this is a lazy example i know) people like Sigur Ros or Squarepusher are almost always consistently original. What makes some rock 'art-rock' really? To my mind, it just seems to come from being influenced by (admittedly brilliant) late 70s/early 80s post-punk bands and having the whole jerky, choppy guitar thing going on.
While they may aspire to it, hardly any of the so-called art-rockers actually accomplish anything of beauty or originality. Well, beauty perhaps, as that's in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. But nothing's really original - in rock music especially. I do think Bloc Party/Franz etc are wicked at times, but i wouldn't say original. Individual maybe, but not original. Whereas (this is a lazy example i know) people like Sigur Ros or Squarepusher are almost always consistently original. What makes some rock 'art-rock' really? To my mind, it just seems to come from being influenced by (admittedly brilliant) late 70s/early 80s post-punk bands and having the whole jerky, choppy guitar thing going on.
Re: Bloc Party
Liquid Liquid!
Re: Bloc Party
i think a lot of bands manage to be serious and mean what they're singing about without wearing rucksacks or coming across as totally over-earnest to the point where they actually begin to sound fake.
some emo is good, some emo is bad.
some emo is good, some emo is bad.
Art Rock
Yeah, basically. I don't dispute the right of any band (or indeed any individual in any artform) to consider themselves as artistically motivated, as opposed to perceiving what they do as a job, or (worse) a 'hobby'.
Who are the so-called art-rockers, as according to NME? I don't read it. To me, art-rock comes from sources such as Television (hence my review of them, in which I descrive them as 'the paragon of art-rock bands', Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Stereolab, Can - bands who it is fruitless to compare anybody else to, bands who other bands aspire to be influenced by. Innovators in their field, who have left a genuine body of artistic labour behind, who have achieved the artistic dreams of beauty and originality.
I think it's a shame if art rock is used as a media whore term to flog a few retro skinny guitar merchants lame-ass records.
Squarepusher is an artist (if not an artrocker). Warp's a great place to find genuine artists (It really pisses me off when American major labels refer to their pampered pop kittens as artists... But hey...)
"Beauty is truth and truth beauty
That is all you shall know on earth
And all you need to know."
Who are the so-called art-rockers, as according to NME? I don't read it. To me, art-rock comes from sources such as Television (hence my review of them, in which I descrive them as 'the paragon of art-rock bands', Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Stereolab, Can - bands who it is fruitless to compare anybody else to, bands who other bands aspire to be influenced by. Innovators in their field, who have left a genuine body of artistic labour behind, who have achieved the artistic dreams of beauty and originality.
I think it's a shame if art rock is used as a media whore term to flog a few retro skinny guitar merchants lame-ass records.
Squarepusher is an artist (if not an artrocker). Warp's a great place to find genuine artists (It really pisses me off when American major labels refer to their pampered pop kittens as artists... But hey...)
"Beauty is truth and truth beauty
That is all you shall know on earth
And all you need to know."
Bloc Party
argh too many words
Re: Bloc Party
Ta da - I found the site too - the address is http://www.simbiotic.info/wichita/index.html?cmd=search&ssid=0c0e880f21c814612f0d&search=BLOC%20PARTY
Bloc Party
I like Bloc Party so much because they are unlike anything I, personally, have heard before. I like their sound, style, and although I haven't seen them live, they come across as really tight in the live recordings I have heard.
Class.
Class.
Re: Bloc Party
kele has a stammer.
this is a fact.
this is a fact.
Re: Bloc Party
You were making some valid points about Bloc Party (a band that I actually like a lot), but this bloke is right, your opinion counts for nothing after having a look at your profile. Nickelback rated higher than Coldplay? Limp Bizkit 5 stars? fucking hell.
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