Bloc Party are an indie/rock four-piece from Essex. They're led by singer Kele Okereke, who also did the vocals for the Chemical Brothers' recent single "Believe". They were launched onto the scene in the beginning of 2005 when their debut album, Silent Alarm, was hailed as the best album for ages by all the trendy music magazines. Being so far behind the trends in modern music, I only just recently purchased this album after hearing the song Helicopter on the BBC's commonwealth games coverage. Is Silent Alarm as good as the hype suggests?

Positive Tension carries on in the same vein as Helicopter, with more drum and guitar-based arty rock. The vocals in the verses are again fantastic, and this time they're matched with a chorus of the same standard. This song adds a bit of electronica to the mix, so at the moment they're sounding like a mixture of Arctic Monkeys/Maximo Park/Franz Ferdinand.

Blue Light at first listen seems dull, especially after the furious opening tracks. But the more you play it, the more it grows on you, and it develops into a beautiful, relaxing song with some cryptic lyrics. She's Hearing Voices is another stand out track. It borrows the same pounding drums from earlier, but pairs it up with a more mellow sound thanks to Kele's adaptable voice. The chorus is quite electronic, and then some crashing guitars come in, and it's a really great mixture of sounds and genres.

Pioneers is another medium-paced track; kept quite simple, to good effect. I think a lot of the songs on here are based on past relationships, including this one, and it's not world-beating, just another well-crafted song. Price Of Gasoline is another spiky, jagged tune, this time with a bit of political protesting against the rising price of petrol. The chorus and backing vocals are particularly good, as are the hand-claps and swirling electro in the background.
The next track, So Here We Are was the first single they released with the album, and it was the track that brought Bloc Party to my attention. It's been used in another BBC commercial recently, for The Virgin Queen I think. BBC has great music taste! It starts very slowly, building up layers of drum and guitar, before Kele's wonderful voice comes floating over the top. Then about half-way through, it suddenly kicks into life and becomes a feel-good, up-tempo ballad. I think this is the best song on the album; it inspires so much emotion and it just sounds amazing.

The final two tracks fit together somewhat, since both are a return to the slow-paced ballads of the middle of the album. Plans has a good chorus and nice lyrics, about the ravens leaving the tower; very spooky. Compliments is the slowest track on the album, as if the band are gradually winding down and sneaking out quietly without us noticing. It won't be to everyone's taste, especially those who prefer the opening rock tracks, but it just goes to show what a diverse range of sounds they can pull off convincingly. They sound a bit like Editors at their slowest.