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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
Re: Bloc Party
Re: Bloc Party
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
Biog 'n' shit to follow.
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seriass.
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x
gen
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and its like that in london.
Bloc Party
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and they have low pitch backing vocals that are so simple but sound so damn arty.
they kick.
Bloc Party
Re: Bloc Party
Re: Bloc Party
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
Art Rock
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
Class.
Re: Bloc Party
this is a fact.

Bloc Party
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