CD Review: Bloc Party
Sometimes you hear about a band so much that you're sick of them before you even hear one track. This was the case with me and Bloc Party. So much praise was heaped on their debut, "Silent Alarm," [ETA: oops, I should fact-check the blog sometimes too.] ] that I jumped immediately to backlash in my evaluation of the group. This was most unfair of me, and kind of stupid. I just got around to listening to their sophomore album "A Weekend in the City," which was released earlier in the month, and it was a rare instance in which I loved it right away.
Their moody, electronic, neo New Wave is nothing new, but they do it well. And their lyrics are smart and passionate. I don't think sincerity is always an indicator of greatness, but these guys wear their hearts on their consumerism-hating sleeves to excellent effect. It helps that they're espousing values that I happen to agree with: anti-corporation, -conformity, -disingenuousness. It helps too that lead singer Kele Okereke successfully navigates the line between plaintive and preachy.
Check out "Hunting for Witches"
-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com
Comments (1)
Emily, the debut album was "Silent Alarm".