I love Bloc Party. I love people who love Bloc Party. I love people who love people who love Bloc Party. I understand where they're coming from! But for those who don’t know people who love Bloc Party, I’ll do my best to spread the gospel.
You may call Bloc Party dance rock, and yes, it's techno to a degree. But much too instrumental to be techno pop, mind you. Don’t you dare call them techno pop. I resentfully admit that there are a lot of Bloc Party dance remixes, which don’t help my cause- DJ Armond Van Helson’s remix of Signs being the most well known on international dance floors. That Bastard.
The game of “Sounds Like” has been won by Chemical Brothers and to a lesser extent Basement Jaxx today. That is, if you believe any of the reviews I’ve read and desired a prelude…
Bloc Party’s front man, a Mr. Kele Okereke has an incredibly distinguishable voice. Pitchy and full, it sounds like he's exorcising desperation from his stomach on every line. I can admit that in any other context Okereke’s voice would annoy the shit out of me. But his sound-like-he’s-on-the-verge-of-crying warbles work within the context of Bloc Party's quartet. The preacher-passionate throw of vocals are a refreshing and eclectic change from the robotic sounds coming from other dance music: I LIKE ELECTRO, HOUSE AND TECHNO Sssshhh!
And when the skies open and you finally hear an original Bloc Party song- the depth of instrumentation will be what warms your cold, cold heart. Always ones for the beat of the drum and the strum of the guitar, Bloc Party have taken these guiding principles to greater lengths in their new album, Intimacy.
Some have complained that Intimacy is not the original Bloc Party sound. I see where they are coming from, there is a lot less simplicity and the album reeks of over-processed, digital recording. However while it takes a few songs, in time you can really sink your teeth into it. I assume the reason for the processed sound is the layer upon layer of guitar, keyboard and drum rhythms, creating a darker and fuller sound. But I find the darkness quite rich and very attractive, like more (yes, that’s right) intimacy is required when listening to the album to figure out it’s secret. It’s confession, even…
Some may say the album is a cop out, but whenever I listen to it I say thank god.
you are the best journalist ever. you also sound pretty fat.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous your first comment is uneducated and extremely childish, save your comments for show and tell in mrs. Jackson’s class next week.
ReplyDeleteJoanna, i thoroughly enjoyed reading your article and to me it reflected on more of a personal opinion rather that what you may have heard or researched about bloc party prior to writing this. Very refreshing thanks