Bloc Party
Silent Alarm (2005)
Bloc Party exploded onto the music scene in 2005 with their debut album, Silent Alarm. With a sound that was a deliberate fusion of different styles (indie rock, pop, electro, even minimalist house music) the group were trying to present something that would distinguish them from other indie rock bands. Fronted by the politically aware Kele Okereke, the band on this album sought mainly to write observational songs about everyday people. It was only with their next release that the group became more vocal about inequality and the modern body politic.
When it was released, its raw, percussive sound was very appealing to me. It's been quite a while though since I gave the album a spin in its entirety. So, join me as I take you through the great, good and not-so-good about Bloc Party's Silent Alarm.
The Album
The majority of the tracks on Silent Alarm are characterised by simple, Strokes-esque guitar riffs, powerfully tight drums and the youthful passion of Okereke's vocal. It needs to be said that outside of the mesmerising Okereke, the other big hero of the album is drummer Matt Tong, who plays with unbelievable speed, dexterity and groove throughout the record.
It would be fairly accurate to also say that most songs burn with a punk-style fury, in abrasiveness, tempo and passion. Like Eating Glass and Helicopter, the first two tracks, are prime examples of why some genre vultures labelled the band 'post-punk revival' - speedy tracks, ragged riffs and the plaintiff cry of the vocals. Positive Tension follows those with a bass-driven, slower tempo but matching intensity tune. It features the very tasteful use of electronic sounds, and even manages to crank up the tempo and intensity in its closing moments with a typical indie-rock solo.
The solid Banquet, which has suffered slightly from overexposure, cleverly uses two staccato guitar riffs trading off with one another to provide the sound. For the most part it's fairly stripped back indie rock, though gathers complexity as it proceeds with extra guitar layers. Blue Light is a Bloc Party ballad, complete with synthesised chimes. She's Hearing Voices features one of the best basslines on the album from Gordon Moakes, and cleverly harnesses changes in intensity to keep the track interesting.
This Modern Love is one of the group's finest tracks. A low-key guitar intro, accompanied by Okereke's distant vocal, gradually picks up pace - first the guitar intro is fleshed out, then Tong steadily ratchets up the drums. By the time the backing vocals kick in, the song is at its full resplendence; it manages to be both plaintively sad and remarkably pretty. Okereke sings 'This modern love/breaks me/this modern love/wastes me' and dares you not to be caught up in the emotion of it all. From there the album begins to lull slightly, with only a handful of pickmeups.
The Pioneers is serviceable, with a fairly grand chorus, but I've always found the song's key to be mildly grating. Price of Gas is a song that I quite enjoy, with its smashing drum and bass combination and the very clever use of synth effects, along with that now-familiar two-guitar riff attack, but objectively speaking, it's an average song with fairly crap lyrics.
The album's last truly affecting moment comes in the form of So Here We Are. A gorgeous guitar melody forms the backbone of the song, along with some very busy drumming from Tong (it's almost Keith Moon-like in its complete disregard for typical time-keeping procedure). Floating over the top is another haunting, effects-heavy vocal from Okereke, supported by some synthesised voices. The song's closing cries ('I figured it out/I can see again') are heart-wrenching.
The album's last aggressive slice of punkesque indie comes in Luno. A solid track that is absolutely worth listening to for the unbelievable work of Tong on the drums. He absolutely owns this track. Plans is fairly bog-standard mid-tempo indie rock. The final track, Compliments, adopts a completely different style - evoking hints of Portishead and Massive Attack with its moody, ambient bass, synth and drum machine, even when the actual drums kick in it never really lifts in mood or tempo. As a chill out song it works quite well, and is evidence that the band weren't afraid to incorporate more electronic elements into their sound.
The Verdict
Silent Alarm stands as one of the better indie releases of the Noughties. It also marks Bloc Party as different to their contemporaries - moodier and more serious than Arctic Monkeys, not a pseudo-novelty band like Kaiser Chiefs, and not quite as danceclubby as Franz Ferdinand.
Bloc Party would go on to better things with their next album, as their songwriting gained maturity. This, however, is a great place to start if you want to find out about what makes the band tick.
Worth a listen.
My rating: ****
Standout Tracks
So Here We Are
This Modern Love
Like Eating Glass
Can't tell what tomorrow's album is until my laptop is fixed!
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