The ever-daunting second album. After the great success of their first, "Silent Alarm", Bloc Party have returned in 2007 with "A Weekend in the City". But with so many bands releasing second albums this year - Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys etc - can they achieve what many don't, and make a better album second time around?
Now, I'm reviewing this after just two listens, and I found their debut needed a few before I got into it and became addicted, so with that in mind, can this effort grab the listener first time around? Or not at all?!
Opening track "Song For Clay (Disappear Here)" seems to monotonously crawl in for the first minute until the distorted guitars and drums kick in…very much in an indie/new wave style of "New Born" by Muse. Instantly, you can hear the Bloc Party-style of music - frenetic drums, quick guitar riffs and jumpy lyrics.
"Hunting For Witches" decides is to my mind, a poor man's version of "Helicopter" from the first album…although don't let that put you off, as that itself was an awesome song. This one just doesn't kick off - perhaps it's to do with the mixing of the album?
Unfortunately "Waiting for the 7.18" drifts by the wayside to after the first couple of listens. Yes, it does burst into life with a couple of minutes to go, but nothing of great impetuous…but don't worry, things will start picking up a bit now……
The first single off the album, "The Prayer" starts off with a dark drumbeat and humming. This is, on first listen, just 'another song', but after a couple of listens, the melodic choruses juxtaposed with the pacey, jumpy verses works almost perfectly. It's a style Bloc Party uses near to perfection in "Silent Alarm", and hey, if it ain't broke, why fix it?!
"Uniform" perhaps proves that, along with a couple of the other previous tracks, that the band are opting for a different style - starting very slowly, then bursting into life after a minute or two. A bit of a big guitar solo to whip this one into a frenzy too…as previously said, things are picking up now.
"On" and "Where is Home?" both follow the pattern of slow starts, big finishes - the latter of the two being far stronger than the former. "I Still Remember" is the second single from the album, and you can certainly understand why. It's on a par with "The Prayer" as being the best song on the album. Again, it's reminiscent of their first outing, and maybe I'm just a fan of their early stuff compared to this performance, as this wouldn't be out of play on Silent Alarm.
The album is finished off with "Sunday" and "SRXT" - the latter doesn't deserve to be lost so far back in the album, and thankfully with "I Still Remember" just before it, at least the good tunes are continuing. "SRXT" is thankfully not quite what I would dub 'a-last-song-on-the-album-track' which merely flows along, never getting out of second gear. Instead it does finally burst into a crescendo of free-flowing music, just what Bloc Party are good at. It's a shame however that there are a few tracks on this album that fit the bracket of 'last-song-on-the-album.'
So, how good is this album? Firstly, "A Weekend in the City" is not as good as Silent Alarm in my opinion, but then again, you're opinion could be completely different. However, their complexity in lyrics shows an excellent growing of age. Available on Amazon for £7.98, or £8.99 with an additional DVD, it's worth a listen, especially if you're a fan. If you're new to them, I'd advise you to go for Silent Alarm
So then, no it's not as good as Silent Alarm…if it was it would be one of the best albums of the past decade. It's a fair effort at a follow-up to a top album, but that's all it is. Shame.
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I also found that Silent Alarm took a few listens before I really took to it. Bearing in mind you'd only listened to this twice, it would be good to have an update to see if your opinion has changed. David
knight_of_the_soundtable 13.05.2007 03:47
Maybe it's 'cause I'm lacking context of what the band did before, maybe it's 'cause there's not much coherence between your single song-by-song reviews; be that as it might, I don't get an overall impression as to their style from this.
gayna1979 19.04.2007 13:11
I love The Prayer, probably my favourite song this year. Gayna x
Critical adulation and commercial success hasn't changed Bloc Party. OnA Weekend In The ... more
City, they're still rolling with the punches, frustrated by small minds, social inequality, and a world that reduces the life's wonderful possibilities to a grey ro...
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Critical adulation and commercial success hasn't changed Bloc Party. On A Weekend In The ... more
City, they're still rolling with the punches, frustrated by small minds, social inequality, and a world that reduces the life's wonderful possibilities to a grey r...
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Advantages: Excellent follow-up to previous album, but showcasing some musical development Disadvantages: Occasionaly slightly flat in terms of its production
Advantages: Great Drumming, Danceable Music, Great Production, Great Band, Nice DVD footage of the band Disadvantages: Lyrics Can Be a Bit Downbeat, Can Get a Tad Repetetive.
Mar 22nd, 2007
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