20 Year Old Student, who watches too many movies, plays too many games, and listens to mostly rock ...
20 Year Old Student, who watches too many movies, plays too many games, and listens to mostly rock music.
Apart from that I’m a top reviewer with 600 reviews on Epinions (same alias) will be transferring my reviews across bit by bit
Member since:16.11.2005
Reviews:49
Members who trust:10
This band have recieved phenomenal hype from the British music press, and while this can occasionally prove to be, at least to an extent, deserved. The hype machine can't always be trusted and can following it can lead to the purchase of some absolutely horrendous records.
Anyway, Bloc Party, as with the Libertines before them, were a band I tried my utmost to just plain ignore the hype surrounding, yet upon actually hearing them realised that clearly not everyone in the British music press is a moron, and occasionally good bands do get good publicity. After the aformentioned single, I managed, via various means, to track down their other singles, and upon the release of their debut album Silent Alarm I was eagerly waiting, buying it on the Monday it was released, and I'm aware that these days that's a risky business, given the rate that record companies pump out 'Special Edition' versions of good albums, but as of yet, Bloc Party have yet to disappoint.
Now, I deliberately put off finishing this review until I saw the band live, why? I'm not sure, but I just felt it might sort of enhance my appreciation of some of the songs, and basically give me better ground to comment on them. It also got held back, because for a while, I couldn't settle on a score for it.
As I'm sure you've already noticed, I've given the record full marks, but unlike every other album I've done so for so far, this wasn't a score I was hit with right away, if there is one thing about Silent Alarm that needs pointed out, it's that it isn't the knee to the balls of rapid fire guitars like Helicopter, and it certainly took me a couple of listens to really get into it. However, since I did get into it, the album has been a fixture on my ipod, and it doesn't look like losing any of it's staying power on it any time soon. Another reason it took me so long to put up, was because I was waiting to see if it would fizzle out, I think I was maybe a bit over-zealous in my review of The Ordinary Boys debut, which I've rarely sat through in it's entireity since scoring it 5-Stars in December (See Epinions) as I said there, Silent Alarm isn't such an album, it has the true trait of a full marks
record in my eyes, lifespan.
Still made up of singer/guitarist Kele Okereke,guitarist Russell Lissack, bass player Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong, the band play what, as I described in my review of the single, music that is almost a cross between Franz Ferdinand and The Libertines. They take on some 80s pop elements ala Franz Ferdinand, but at the same time have a harder, more Libertines-esque rock edge to them that makes them pretty easily accessable, and indeed, the gig I was at boasted what seemed like the most diverse crowd I've ever seen, the crowd weren't a fine display of stereotypes, the band's scope of appeal is wide.
The albums comes out swinging, while lyrically Like Eating Glass is just your bog standard song of love that isn't going well, it's performed in such a manner that you won't care if you've heard a thousand songs of it's type before. It's based around Tong's pounding drums(it's worthy of keeping an eye on him while seeing them live, he's awesome), starting slow, before rocking out at the chorus, but it's the guitars and Mr.Okereke who also play possibly the most vital role in escalating this above bog-standard. Both Kele's voice and the guitars during the verses convey a proper sense of despair, which actually takes the song above even just an acceptable entry into it's genre, and into an actual peach of a song. Kele's voice is one of the most vital ingredients to Bloc Party's sound, his voice will go all over the spectrum, from a confident rock-star to, and while I hate to use the exact words of another reviewer here, it sums it up perfectly, a desperate yelp. While Razorlight's Johhny Borrell is very good at souding desperate and whiny, and perfect for this type of song, Kele actually puts in all sorts of vocal performances and comes out looking awesome.
Just as if to prove they aren't repetitive, and to keep the initial assault going, Helicopter flies in next, and to be honest, it only seems to have got better since the single, despite being unchanged. If it wouldn't be cheating, I could almost copy and paste what I wrote from the single about it, but insert "really f*****g" in front of every nice thing I say, because the song just rocks, plain and simple. Since the single, I've learned it's a pop at George W.Bush, which actually makes sense ("just like his dad/just like his dad/same mistakes/some things will never be different"), but the fact that even without any knowledge of the song's lyrical point, it's, as I said, the song's 'Scythe' like guitar riff granted it excellent status in my book, actual lyrical purpose makes it stronger.
Positive Tension starts out slow, with Kele's vocals being almost spoken, before backing vocals from Moakes kick in at the chorus, where Kele gets to lose it a bit. This song's major focus is on the bassline, which pounds throughout. I have to admit that I actually don't really know how to describe this song, other than "pretty bloody good, if a bit weird".
The first single, which is due for re-release, Banquet is back to a more rock-orientated, guitar heavy sound, a sound which also makes it's way into She's Hearing Voices,Pioneers and Luno, the latter two being favourites of mine on the record, and Luno having an air of Helicopter about it without seeming too similar. That's one thing that the record can never be accused of, sounding too similar, either to each other or anything else. Kele's voice is very distinct and accented, and just the general sound of the band, which at many times makes the guitars sound almost synth like,really does stand them out from the pack.
So what about the other songs, as well as being bloody good rockers, Bloc Party also turn their hand to nicely slower paced ballads on the album. Blue Light being a standout, due to it's rather more melancholy start, before turning upbeat and cheery after a little while. This Modern Love is a complete favourite of mine, and as with Like Eating Glass, it's a love song, but put out with such convincing emotion, from both singer and instruments, that it not only becomes a good song of it's type, but actually qualifies as a great song in general. It's slow, and I wouldn't say downbeat, but it does have a sense of sadness to it, which makes it's uplifting feeling somewhat odd. So Here We Are was a pretty poor choice for a single, but I suppose the group were trying to show a different side to their other singles with it. It's very slow, dreamy and more outright upbeat than the other ballad-type songs on here. Plans and Compliments also fit this bracket, but while I feel they have their merits, they are probably the weakest songs on the record, but granted that still only brings them down to 'good' quality.
Price of Gasoline as it's labelled on the sleeve, yet called Price of Gas when imported onto the computer, fits in between the two. Chunks of it are pretty slow, but unlike the others, you feel it's building up to something, before it tricks you, thinking Kele's yelped chorus and handclaps are the pinnacle, before it really kicks in, with his refrain of "We're gonna end this" and going back to the slower, rythm powered sections.
On the whole, I just think Silent Alarm is great. While I've mostly broken it down into the more rock and more ballad like numbers, you would be forgiven for thinking the album is standard fare and possibly a bit bland, but the fact is, Bloc Party's version of a ballad differs from song to song, and as I say, nothing here is repetitive, no two songs sound the same, I was just generalising, this is a diverse record, without a weak track on it. Sure I could have lived without the final two tracks, but they are still of a quality high enough for me to enjoy them.
Silent Alarm is a great album, that's basically it in a nutshell. It's rocky,ballady, with some catchy guitar hooks and unique vocals, not to mention brilliant drumming, all merged together into one good record that's the best thing I've heard in 2005 so far. To be honest, I don't see a point in making recommendations, because I can see the hype being generated behind the band causing a lot of people to buy it, even if they do just have the intention of saying it's crap(I know a lot of people did this with the Strokes), but I wouldn't be surprised if some of these people got won over, the band and this record are this good. A unique thing I noticed when I saw them live, was that they even managed to make their ballads rock, and every song sounded great, as well as buying this album I would certainly advise anyone to take up the chance of seeing them live.
Not really much more I can say about Silent Alarm, it's great. This band have an awesome future ahead if they carry on putting out stuff like this. One thing I always think about when trying to rate new albums is how they will last, and I do genuinely see Silent Alarm standing the test of time and being possible to fully enjoy in years to come. The band have also made a nice signal of intent, by ripping Oasis and saying they should retire, something that the majority of people like me have wanted to say for a while, but it's nice to see a band who are just making a name for themselves having a pop at a bigger band who actually deserve it, and not just for publicity.
It's quite funny, a lot of people were quick to call the band 'the new Franz Ferdinand'. If I were Franz Ferdinand, I would start calling myself 'the old Bloc Party'.
Track Listing 1.Like Eating Glass 2.Helicopter 3.Positive Tension 4.Banquet 5.Blue Light 6.She's Hearing Voices 7.This Modern Love 8.Pioneers 9.Price of Gas(oline) 10.So Here We Are 11.Luno 12.Plans 13.Compliments
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Styled more along the lines of a revolutionary cell than a band, Bloc Party approach the ... more
medium of rock'n'roll with the sort of high seriousness usually reserved for philosophy lectures. Yet on their debut album,Silent Alarm, this "autonomous unit" of ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Styled more along the lines of a revolutionary cell than a band, Bloc Party approach the ... more
medium of rock'n'roll with the sort of high seriousness usually reserved for philosophy lectures. Yet on their debut album, Silent Alarm, this "autonomous unit" of...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: It's an excellent album, totally different to everything else. Contains one of the best song's I've heard in years Disadvantages: A few tracks take their time to grow. Instantly compared to bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers, without being judged on its own merit
Advantages: Lyrically and vocally compelling.Sounds bit like Joy Division, Sonic Youth, The Cure and such like Disadvantages: The vocals can sometimes bit a bit shouty and musically they aren't that impressive or different.
Advantages: It's an excellent album, totally different to everything else. Contains one of the best song's I've heard in years Disadvantages: A few tracks take their time to grow. Instantly compared to bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers, without being judged on its own merit
Advantages: Lyrically and vocally compelling.Sounds bit like Joy Division, Sonic Youth, The Cure and such like Disadvantages: The vocals can sometimes bit a bit shouty and musically they aren't that impressive or different.
Nov 17th, 2005
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