Bloc Party - Four - Printable Version +- Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com) +-- Forum: Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Alternative (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: Bloc Party - Four (/showthread.php?tid=7409)

Bloc Party - Four - Music Head - 21-08-2012 online listen a bit too tech loaded for me thought they were more dance oriented than this clip is the lead single which is close to a like a few others come close 1.3 from me and a converted 2.4 from the pros at allmusic from the album - Octopus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkeUFRK4i7w released August 21st, 2012 Bio - from allmusic Equally inspired by Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Cure, East London art punkers Bloc Party mix angular sonics with pop structures. Consisting of singer/guitarist Kele Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist/singer Gordon Moakes, and drummer Matt Tong, the band was formerly known as Angel Range and Union before settling on Bloc Party. Okereke and Lissack met each other through mutual friends at the Reading Festival, and discovered that they had musical tastes as well as friends in common. Tong and Moakes soon joined their collaboration, and under the name Union, the quartet issued a demo in early 2003; later that year, they switched their name to Bloc Party. The group's demo and concerts began to attract attention from both the press and their peers; Okereke sent a copy of the demo to Franz Ferdinand, who invited them to play at the Domino tenth anniversary bash in fall 2003. Early the following year, the band released one of the demo's tracks, "She's Hearing Voices," as a single on Trash Aesthetics. A few months later, Banquet/Staying Fat arrived on Moshi Moshi. That spring, Bloc Party signed to Wichita to release their full-length album in the U.K., and to Dim Mak for U.S. distribution. The band spent summer 2004 recording and touring. Late that summer, Bloc Party, which collected the band's first two singles, arrived in the States. Their debut album, Silent Alarm, appeared early in 2005 and was released by Vice Records in the States to widespread acclaim. Later that year, Silent Alarm Remixed capitalized on the band's burgeoning popularity, as did the 2006 EP Helicopter. A Weekend in the City, Bloc Party's second proper album, followed in 2007. A Weekend in the City leaked onto the Internet months before the album's street date, which inspired Bloc Party to issue their third album, Intimacy, online in late summer 2008; the album was released on compact disc that fall. Late in 2009, Bloc Party went on hiatus and Okereke began working on songs on his own, moving to Berlin and collaborating with producers Hudson Mohawke and XXXchange in New York on a solo album. In 2010, the single Tenderoni arrived, revealing that Okereke's solo work was more dance-oriented than his music with Bloc Party. His full-length debut, The Boxer, arrived in summer 2010. Meanwhile, Moakes formed a side project, Young Legionnaire, with the Automatic's Paul Mullen and La Roux's William Bowerman. The following year, Bloc Party reunited to record their fourth album; that July, the lead single "Octopus" showed that the band had returned to the angular, guitar-heavy sound of their earlier work. Four arrived in August 2012. Album Review - from allmusic When Bloc Party went on a lengthy hiatus after the release of their third album Intimacy, it didn't seem like they needed to get back together. The band's members had moved on, with Kele Okereke releasing his solo album The Boxer and bassist Gordon Moakes forming the group Young Legionnaire. More importantly, it seemed like Bloc Party had said its piece, but Four -- an album title that reflects the years between the band's albums, the number of its members, and its place in Bloc Party's discography -- shows there's more life in their music than most would have predicted. The bands from the post-punk/angular movement of the early 2000s that thrived were the ones who evolved; Bloc Party knew this as early as A Weekend in the City, when they began adding more electronic elements to their sound. This led to some strong moments on that album and Intimacy, but it also felt somewhat obligatory, following the Radiohead-blueprint way for a forward-thinking rock band to push itself. Yet Bloc Party push harder on these songs than they have in years, and there's barely a synthesizer or sequencer to be found. Four is far harder-edged than any of their music since Silent Alarm or their early EPs, and they spend equal time in familiar territory and breaking new ground. "So He Begins to Lie," with its lumbering, angular riffs and political overtones, could have easily appeared on their debut, while "V.A.L.I.S." and the excellent single "Octopus" distill everything great about their pop side -- precise melodies, spring-loaded guitars, expertly deployed tension and release -- into songs that seem poised for flight. Meanwhile, ballads such as "Day Four" and "Truth" are pretty but a touch predictable, serving more as breathers between the album's onslaughts than as attractions in their own right. Four's real star is guitarist Russell Lissack, who unleashes hesher-friendly riffs and solos with the pent-up fury of a four-year break behind him. He gives "Team A"'s menacing dance-punk extra heft and fuels "3 x 3"'s anguished tug-of-war with churning riffs that make it one of the album's most thrilling moments. Things get even gnarlier on "Kettling," which boasts surging riffs that recall P.O.D. and other X Games favorites, and on "Coliseum," which begins as a bluesy shuffle and ends as a metallic grind that would do Helmet proud. It's awkward, but it's also interesting and completely unlike anything they've done before. Songs like this and the album's closing rant "We're Not Good People" show just how much fight there is in this album, and in Bloc Party; they sought new life in their music and their collaboration, and they found it. Four may not be as cohesive as Silent Alarm, but it just might be more vital. Track Listing 1. So He Begins to Lie 2. 3x3 3. Octopus 4. Real Talk 5. Kettling 6. Day Four 7. Coliseum 8. V.A.L.I.S. 9. Team A 10. Truth 11. The Healing 12. Were Not Good People Bloc Party - Four - CRAZY-HORSE - 22-08-2012 those guys are huge down our way...they always seem to be at one of our summer festivals, generally not my thing, but the link is ok i guess Bloc Party - Four - Simran - 22-08-2012 Nice thanks for sharing. it is bit different type of music.