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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Styled more along the lines of a revolutionary cell than a band, Bloc Party approach the 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 smart, wiry London youth don't just succeed in reinvigorating the artform – they come pretty close to reinventing it from the ground up.
Whereas early singles like "She's Hearing Voices" found the band still attempting to chisel their own image out of familiar post-punk reference points – The Fall, Joy Division, and Gang Of Four, to name but three – newer tracks such as "Like Eating Glass" and the prickly "Price Of Gas" find Bloc Party pioneering a freshly-minted template of staccato percussion, expansive soundscapes, and cryptic lyrics that artfully straddle the political and the personal. Russell Lissack has forsaken that overdone hallmark of post-punk, brittle tortured-fretboard skronk, in favour of an effects-laden guitar sound that adds genuine prettiness to Bloc Party's edgy rush. But it's Kele Okereke's vocal that's the band's most flexible facet, morphing from frothing anger to breathless desperation. "Are you hoping for a miracle?" he bays, on "Helicopter". Yes? Well Silent Alarm ably fits the bill. --Louis Pattison
Review
The minimalist efficiency of Bloc Party's shiny new website speaks volumes about this band. There's no self-glorification and no hard-sell behind London's brightest young things, no pomp and no pretence. They describe themselves, rather awkwardly, as 'an autonomous unit of un-extraordinary kids reared on pop culture between the years of 1976 and the present day'. This is no cunningly-crafted press spiel; it's an honest statement of intent.
It's not surprising that Bloc Party are keen to declare their autonomy and shirk off musical comparisons. Since late 2003, they've had the 'new Franz Ferdinand' tail lazily pinned on them by all concerned. Flattered as they must be by this new-found fame, it's clear that Bloc Party would rather their long-awaited long-player Silent Alarm did the talking.
'Are you hoping for a miracle?' cries frontman Kele Okereke on "Helicopter". To be frank, yes. In a market that's becoming increasingly driven by throwaway singles, I'm hoping for a record that reinvigorates the album as an art form; I'm hoping for a record that'll have me scrambling to press play whenever I get the chance; I'm hoping that 'something glorious is about to happen' ("Positive Tension").
Glorious just about sums Silent Alarm up. From the outset, this is a remarkable, truly inspirational work. Though the angular strut of dance-floor fillers "Banquet", "Helicopter" and "Luno" may satisfy the current punk-funk vogue, Bloc Party are equally adept at sanding down the rough edges and smoothing out the angles. "This Modern Love", "Blue Light" and latest single "So Here We Are" are three of the gentlest, most touching ballads to come out of London in a long time.
That said, even on these tender tracks there's a distinct sense of urgency that might just become Bloc Party's trademark. It lies at the heart of the album, in Matt Tong's relentlessly creative drum patterns and frantic fills. Bucking today's trend for a 'plug and play' sound, Russel Lissack's effects-laden guitar - evocative of Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood - is given free reign to explore.
Together, Bloc Party exude exactly what they proclaim on the album's centrepiece, "The Pioneers": 'A sense of purpose and a sense of skill'. Despite the absence of early single "Little Thoughts", Silent Alarm feels complete; it's an astonishing, confident and infectious debut. --Richard Banks
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is astounding music. Energetic but calming, spikey but ethereal.
At it's essence it is pop music, but it has an intelligence to it that cannot be overlooked. And surprisingly for a British guitar band, it isn't a rye, 'knowing' type of intelligence. Yes, Kele Okereke and his band take themselves very seriously, and yes they do look like archetypal students, but this debut is proof that they are making some the most sophisticated guitar pop in music today. The new album has a slightly bigger sound, and the themes are more urban. This album is different, the cover-art captures the shimmeringly austere sounds that are burned onto the disc.
One of my favourite records of the past 5 years.
At it's essence it is pop music, but it has an intelligence to it that cannot be overlooked. And surprisingly for a British guitar band, it isn't a rye, 'knowing' type of intelligence. Yes, Kele Okereke and his band take themselves very seriously, and yes they do look like archetypal students, but this debut is proof that they are making some the most sophisticated guitar pop in music today. The new album has a slightly bigger sound, and the themes are more urban. This album is different, the cover-art captures the shimmeringly austere sounds that are burned onto the disc.
One of my favourite records of the past 5 years.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
i think this album is superlative. it's raw, it's edgy, it's fusion, there are so many influences at work in this album that it's exhilarating to hear - you know that the musicians have listened to a lot of different music, and they have a lot of ideas. it's original, it's interesting, it's honest, it's very very british, seeming to come from that same ska-punk-fusion late 70s-early 80s approach, if not the sound (kele okereke's voice has the 'punk' sound, but the rest of the music crosses boundaries, some of the drumming sounding drum-and-bassish without ever falling into the trap) - there are bits of this album which make me think of kate bush at her finest moments, as strange as it may sound - totally original, thoughtful, serious, dedicated, visionary, idiosyncratic musicianship, never flawless (but who wants flawless?) - an excellent album, on first hearing i felt that a couple of the last tracks were noticeably weaker than the rest of the album, although i love the final track (compliments). the album works as a whole since the more melodic tracks act as relief against the harsher sounding, deep tracks with heavy bass and crazy guitar riffs and drum battering and these keening vocals wailing over the top. i don't listen to hype, i'm not into any one scene, i have a wide variety of tastes and in my opinion this is a great album. and i don't like franz ferdinand.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well, as Indie guitar albums go, it's an extremely clever Indie guitar album.
An impressive opener, 'Like eating glass' sets the tone perfectly for 'Silent Alarm', the debut album from Essex-boys Bloc Party.
The first thing that struck me when I listened to this album was how dynamic it sounds. In a sub-cockney Pixies/duelling banjo's kinda way, the guitars seem to stick together throughout, no matter what they do, and they are doing completely different things throughout. That's before you even get to the second track, 'Helicopter', which illustrates my point perfectly. 'Positive Tension' reminds us that the rhythm section is not just there to keep time either, the punching bass line and even punchier drums lead you up to the massive ending, 'something glorious is about to happen' and indeed it does.
An impressive opener, 'Like eating glass' sets the tone perfectly for 'Silent Alarm', the debut album from Essex-boys Bloc Party.
The first thing that struck me when I listened to this album was how dynamic it sounds. In a sub-cockney Pixies/duelling banjo's kinda way, the guitars seem to stick together throughout, no matter what they do, and they are doing completely different things throughout. That's before you even get to the second track, 'Helicopter', which illustrates my point perfectly. 'Positive Tension' reminds us that the rhythm section is not just there to keep time either, the punching bass line and even punchier drums lead you up to the massive ending, 'something glorious is about to happen' and indeed it does.
While 'Banquet', the debut single that somehow slipped past everyone, 'She's hearing voices' and 'Price of Gasoline' take us back to the eighties, with echoes of The Specials/Gang of Four/Buzzcocks, 'Blue Light' pulls us back, hinting at more modern influences altogether. Although, guessing the music collection of this band must be some feet, influences seem to come from all directions.
In 'Modern Love' and the (London)Radiohead 'Pioneers' we simply have it all.
By the time I'd got to 'So here we are' (the brilliant current single), I'd forgotten I was listening to the same Bloc Party who are now Radio 1 play-list favourites, and thought I'd just discovered something new and very interesting.
'Plans' then assures me that I have, 'we're all scared of the future', believe me lads you've got no reason to be.
There are so many high points to this album it is hard to sum it up. But I think it's definitely time we got over Franz Ferdinand and gave the credit too something really worth it, Silent Alarm.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I must be missing something!
I don't get all the hype around this band. They have 're-invented' rock have they? Supposedly the Bloc Party manifesto has destroyed all that has come before it and revolutionised... Read more
Published 9 months ago by theone&only
I wanted to give it 3 1/2 stars not 4
Very raw with lots of energy but it just lacked somthing which I just can't put my finger on it. I brought this album because of the track So here we are which I thought was... Read more
Published on 10 April 2010 by Stephen
Excellent album, music of the 2000's!
When people review what the signature sound of the 2000's is they will surely have to include the electro-indie guitar sounds of Bloc Party who brought fast rythms to fast guitar... Read more
Published on 7 July 2009 by Scarhurzt
Current favourites
I only got into Bloc Party about a year ago, with the release of A Weekend in the City. Before that, I was pretty much unaware of their existence, but thanks to NME magazine, which... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2008 by curefreak
Flawless? ... i think so....
Put simply this is the most important album to have hit me in years, since its first release to the present day there isn't a single album that is in the mind or CD player ect as... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2008 by Mr. M. P. Layton
chekit
Bloc Party are an odd band really; they have the whitest ever black guy as a lead singer & a drummer with a better sense of rhythm than most hip hop producers. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2008 by 77
A good indie band?
Preety impressed with this, I think the great thing about Bloc Party is their abilty to impress those who generally don't like Indie, like me. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2007 by Quemeelsol
One of my favourites
In a word - AWESOME.
Their debut is brilliant and hits all the spots for me. With amazing songs such as Helicopter where you could recognise it anywhere and She's Hearing... Read more
Their debut is brilliant and hits all the spots for me. With amazing songs such as Helicopter where you could recognise it anywhere and She's Hearing... Read more
Published on 14 July 2007 by Smatch
bloc soaked up agitpop and spat out a masterpiece
2007 and a lot of mediocre bands THINK they soaked up politics and eighties punky agit stuff but for me only one band managed to synthesise the past and produce a new... Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by C. Allen
Bad ass mutha
Varied in tone and stylistically uncategorisable, one thing is clear about Bloc Party's debut album: it's bloody brilliant... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2007 by Kevin M. Heery
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