June: Blog Highlights

June will forever be remembered for one event, an occasion so monumental it will go down in the history books and be remembered for ever more. A once great and succesful figure but one that had fallen on tempestuous and difficult times in recent years tragically released this as their new away kit.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop also passed away.

In blog-land these things all happened.

I had a few chats with Maximo Park, Dizzee Rascal, Beth Ditto, Marina and The Diamonds and Florence and The Machine.

Blur came back and tore Rough Trade East a new one. Watch it here.

Bloc Party and The XX debuted new singles. One is a lot better than the other but Bloc Party try hard bless them.

Crocodiles introduced themselves to the world.

Pains of Being Pure At Heart put in a set of two halves in London.

T-Pain jumped the bling shark with his new Big Ass Chain.

And I made my first effort in beoming the next Scott Mills by appearing on Radio 1's Steve Lamacq show talking about Lost Knives.

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Bloc Party- 'One More Chance'

Bloc Party return with another one off single with 'One More Chance' (joining 'Two More Years' and 'Flux' as interim album singles). Another foray into disco floor filler territory it sees a 90's house vibe taking over with a simple but effective piano line piercing throughout then being joined by the flat pack beats and buzzing guitars now synonymous with the band.

It's not a WTF? moment like 'Flux' or 'Mercury' were on their first play but with more emphasis on melody and that damn catchy piano it's another success for Bloc Party. Minor flaws being that they are becoming close to a pastiche of themselves with almost indenti-kit material and Russell Lissack seriously needs to vary his guitar playing, has it ever sounded remotely different?

Plus, as Zane Lowe says, every Bloc Party single is a part of musical history.

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Album Of The Year #8- Bloc Party: Intimacy

Taking two steps forward Bloc Party released the album they wanted to with Intimacy. As expansive and experimental as a band their size can feasibly get away with Kele Okereke et al challenged those suffering Silent Alarm wearyness whilst not alienating the masses who still go love 'Helicopter'. 'Mercury' provided the most WTF? moment of the year and the rest of the album raised the correct number of eyebrows and heart rates. One day Bloc Party will blow us all away with their full vision but until then 'Intimacy' represents a confident step in the right direction.

'Talons'

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Singles- Oct 20th

Bloc Party- 'Talons'

One of the stand out tracks from ‘Intimacy’ this is a dark slab of agit-pop that Bloc Party really excel in. with the tension and scratchy impatience of the ‘Silent Alarm’ days ‘Talons’ sounds like classic Bloc Party but added into the mix is the more experimental drum machines and heavy guitars symptomatic of ‘Intimacy’. It seems Bloc Party will get lost amongst the other big hitters (Kaisers, Razorlight, Snow Patrol) but with tracks like ‘Talons’ you can see they are progressing with every album and becoming one of the best stadium sized bands in the country.

Port O'Brien- 'Close The Lid'

Bright Eyes tourmates and M. Wards favourite new band release a fantastically upbeat indie pop riot that sounds effortlessley fun whilst retaining Pitchfork cool points with it's rustic charms. Brilliant fun.

Laura Marling- 'Night Terror'

Thank God she didn't win the Mercury prize. Whilst Elbow were a well grounded and established band that will only benefit from the attention and scrutiny you can't help thinking Laura Malring migh have crumbled. So ethereal and ornate her songs are small citadels of beauty, barely holding themselves together and 'Night Terror' is no different. A slow burning epic it swirls and soars whilst remaining intimate at all times. Stunning.

The Virgins- 'Rich Girls'

Proving that NYC still has a pop side amidst the onslaught of the art influx of Brooklyn The Virgins are channeling a sound that is more indebted to The Strokes than Converse ever will be. Laid back funk pop is The Virgins brand of music and it's by no means bad but it all seems so unnecessary. The fact I could name you ten bands from New York who are better makes you wonder how this lot got any attention in the first place.

Golden Silvers- 'Magic Touch'

One of the bands who have 2009 there for the taking are Golden Silvers. Following the brilliant 'Arrows Of Eros' is 'Magic Touch'. A more slow paced effort but still packed with al the melody and eccentric pop this is another good sign for the future of a very promising band.

'Night Terror'

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Bloc Party- 'Intimacy'

Bloc Party
‘Intimacy’
Wichita
4/5


Bloc Party have always been a band tied between idealisation and actualisation. Since the release of their debut album ‘Silent Alarm’ in 2005 Bloc Party have become a marquee name alongside contemporaries like Kings of Leon, The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs (Though festival headline slots still elude them). However it appears that they would far rather be mentioned in breaths including TV On The Radio, LCD Soundsystem and other such musical pioneers. A second album of moaning fashionista baiting was met with muted critical response and whilst some fans argue it, ‘A Weekend In The City’ was a pale imitator to its predecessors decade defining brilliance.

Undeterred by the whispers and murmurs Kele and co began to shake things up. First came ‘Flux’, a song that shocked and appalled many on first glances. Euro dance beats not heard since late 90’s Dave Pearce Radio 1 shows bump and grinded away under a series of vocal loops and tricks leaving the listener wondering where the simpler times of ‘Helicopter’ went. Message board rumours of Bloc Party doing a ‘Kid A’ on album number 3 and abandoning their post punk style Gang Of Four leanings all together to embrace a dance orientated sound coupled with sonic experimentation. Thus bringing us to ‘Intimacy’ Bloc Party’s third and possibly career defining record.

The ‘Kid A’ comparisons are at no point apparent however ‘Intimacy’ does follow Radiohead in it’s technological embracing ways. The album was announced to fans in a webchat and released at limited notice for fans to download the first 10 tracks for a fee of just £5. Whilst not quite the ‘pay what you want’ policy of Thom Yorke it certainly made people sit up and pay attention to the new album (Whilst cleverly avoiding the A-List album scrum of October).

The day of the ‘Intimacy’ announcement also saw the band preview the first single from it, ‘Mercury’, also knows as the moment Bloc Party went mental. Blogs, fan sites and peoples ears exploded. Tribal drums crashed triumphantly out the speakers, horns were introduced for the first time and Kele’s vocals jumped and flipped around like a fish out of water. If Bloc Party wanted to get peoples attentions this was the way to do it. Now instead of the potential of a boring indie bands boring third album we had the prospect of either an amazing transformation or one of the biggest bands in the country falling flat on their aspirational faces.

‘Intimacy’ is not quite the headfuck many predicted, it is however ten times more innovative, intriguing and exciting than many would have Bloc Party down as. The guitars have a drive and determination like never before, the drums sound big and bold whilst the vocals, still noticeably Bloc Party, sound more urgent and energetic than on previous efforts. In short this is Bloc Party 2.0, forget about the previous regime because this is a band going places. ‘Ares’ opens things up with wall climbing guitars clashing frantically with massive compressed drums and Keles yelps about war and rude bois, it’s the perfect introduction to the album in that it introduces the bands new fondness for abrasion whilst not forgetting their roots. It’s important to mention that nobody believes Bloc Party used to sound like Starsailor, it’s just impressive to see a band taking risks and innovating as they mature.

Like the bands previous two efforts the songs are very much split between fast paced stompers and the twinkling flame wavers. ‘Halo’, ‘Trojan Horse’ and ‘One Month Off’ fit into the earlier of these groups whilst ‘Biko’ and ‘Signs’ rival ‘Silent Alarms’ ‘This Modern Love’ for the sweetest Bloc Party song yet. Whilst prior ground is being tread here what makes ‘Intimacy’ so impressive is the confidence and intricacies that go alongside the tracks. Hear the strings soar with the vocals on ‘Signs’, the dub beats and choral chants on ‘Zephyrus’ and epic end to ‘Ion Square’ for evidence that Bloc Party are no longer “Just a band” as Scroobius Pip once said.

One imagines that Bloc Party’s fondness for a catchy riff and sing along choruses will always be what holds them back from truly embracing their experimental side. However in terms of the band marrying their ambitions and ideas with their abilities and traditions ‘Intimacy’ is a bold step forward that puts them a good distance away from the plodding and bloated names they emerged with and more than a few steps towards the names they truly admire.

'Mercury'

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