Girls Dreams

Bloc Party shot by Rachael Wright

The return of Bloc Party. Their fifth album, their first in four years, a record many thought would never happen since their hiatus back in 2013 left the band's future shadowed by a looming question mark. Singer Kele Okereke and guitarist Russell Lissack remain, and in the place of drummer Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes, stand two new members: 21-year-old drummer Louise Bartle, found by the pair via YouTube, and bassist Justin Harris (formerly of Portland band Menomena). Additions, Okereke says, reinvigorated the band. 

This is not the Bloc Party that released "Helicopter"—with its razored, relentless guitar licks and incisive beats and Kele's impassioned yelp, a song that burned its way through the musical landscape firing up indie dance floors at the tail end of 2004. It was an era that vibrated with the possibility and then the thrilling reality of homogenised mainstream music being overturned and subsequently trampled as the underdogs turned triumphant. It was 17 years ago that Okereke and Lissack formed the band, so yes, one would expect everything to be very different. 

Giddy album opener "The Love Within," with its zinging, manipulated synths isn't so much indicative of the record as a whole. HYMNS is contemplative collection. Where some of their oldest, most beloved songs hurtled towards their conclusions with an angsty urgency, here Okereke entertains atmospherics and many moments of melodic calm. Meanwhile his lyrics are amongst the most starkly emotional he's ever sung. 

"I see HYMNS as an exploration of all the things that I hold sacred in my life," explains Okereke. "I'm not a religious person however I'm starting to realize that i do have a spiritual dimension and HYMNS was a way of celebrating the things that matter to me, from the stars and the moon, through to the rivers and the sea, as well as the joys of sex and intimacy. It's when I experience these things that I feel I am in the presence of the divine, so I wanted the HYMNS to reflect that."

Listen to the album for the first time in full below and catch Bloc Party on tour this year. 

Bloc Party Tour Dates 

January 26           London, UK @ PIAS Nites

January 27           London, UK @ MTV Brand News

January 29           Cardiff, UK @ Great Hall*

January 30           Southhampton, UK @ O2 Guildhall

January 31           Kingston Upon Thames, UK @ The Hippodrome (Banquet Records)

February 1          Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy*

February 2          Nottingham, UK @ Rock City*

February 4          Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy*

February 5          Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland*

February 6          Manchester, UK @ Academy*

February 8          Keeds, UK @ O2 Academy*

February 9          Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange*

February 11        Brixton, UK @ O2 Academy*

February 12        Birmingham, UK @ O1 Academy*

June 6 - 9            New York, NY @ Governors Ball Festival

HYMNS is out on 1.29 via Infectious Music / BMG / Vagrant Records

from Noisey http://ift.tt/201U9eX

Share on Google Plus

About Unknown

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.