More on: Bloc Party

Date: 25/01/07
Rating:

"You write a book, and when you're finished there's a dinner and maybe you get a prize. And then every one asks the same question - what's next?" - Sandra Bullock in her role as the author Harper Lee in the film 'Infamous'.

How to follow up a critically acclaimed and commercially successful work is a puzzle which artists try to solve in many ways. Some opt to retread old ground with a few new tweaks (Coldplay), some take a totally new direction (Radiohead) and some are so perplexed that they never get around to answering the question (My Bloody Valentine).

Bloc Party have come up with the best solution to the problem - create something which is a giant step forward from what has come before. 'A Weekend In The City', the follow up to their million selling debut 'Silent Alarm', is an incredible album which takes the angry staccato guitar blueprint of their debut and fleshes it out with personal lyrics, bolder production and more varied and exciting songs. It sits alongside Dizzee Rascal's 'Boy In Da Corner' and The Streets' 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' as one of the best albums released this decade about being young, dazed and confused in modern day Britain.

The band are in furious form during the first gig of their three-month trek around the world bringing the new tunes to the masses. While guitarist Russell Lissack spends the whole concert hiding behind his old school indie guitarist fringe, Kele Okereke has transformed himself from being a reserved, vulnerable lead singer to a charismatic and engaging frontman. He's in constant motion, dancing and rocking his way through the gig. "Who's heard our new album already?" he asks the crowd, and gets a massive positive response. All those who cheer who will later be arrested and flown to an interrogation camp in Eastern Europe by the BPI for copyright theft offences.

'Song For Clay', 'Positive Tension' and 'Banquet' are rattled through with military precision. All three songs fizz with nervous energy, powered by Matt Tong's metranome-esque drumming. Bloc Party's songs about the dirty and disheveled side of life sound as if they were designed to be played in the steamy claustrophobic environment of the Mean Fiddler.

The songs from 'Silent Alarm' still sound tight and thrilling while the new tunes, 'Waiting For The 7.18', 'Uniform' and 'I Still Remember' show a more delicate side to the band, without sacrificing any of their power or intensity.

'The Prayer', Okereke sings "Tonight make me unstoppable. I will charm, I will slice, I will dazzle them with my wit." Tonight Bloc Party were unstoppable, dazzling and charming. What's next? Critical acclaim, huge record sales and prizes ahoy if there's any justice in the world.

John McCarthy

Bloc Party Official Site
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