Aug 22 2008 11:12 am,
Bloc Party
'Intimacy'
(Wichita)
Ok, so Bloc Party have, as the term now goes, “done a Radiohead”. The
‘Ares’
The album opens with swirling strings which are soon booted out the way by chaotic guitar screeches and what sounds like the drums from Chemical Brothers’ ‘Setting Sun’. Kele is spitting out his vocals - “War! War! War! War!” goes the rant – and he’s so angry that he’s forgotten to stick ‘em to a melody. Then, there’s a breakdown and now he sounds like he’s impersonating a nine-year old, then back comes galloping in the Chemical Brothers drums, guitars and Angry Kele™ for one last grrrr. Lively start – if not too memorable.
‘Mercury’
I’ve already blogged about my dislike of this one – now, there’s lots going on in ‘Mercury’, it’s just none of it is going in the same direction. The Cher-esque vox effect Kele employs still makes me laugh, and I’m not sure that was the effect they were after. And when he says “Mercury” over and over, it definitely sounds like he’s saying Berkery. Which is a made-up word, admittedly, but I might start using it anyway. Berkery!
‘Halo’
Thank Christ! A guitar that doesn’t sound like its being run via a Commodore 64! ‘Halo’ starts off with a new wave thrash, a bit like Bloc Party trying to be Death From Above 1979, the verse riff resembling ‘Helicopter’ being fed to a shredder, and doesn’t really let up from the intro til the end. Kele is singing about “sparks of desire”, the lyrics still harping on the romantic lyrical guffety that got stuck in ‘Weekend In The City’’s throat. There’s a big section in the middle with some synth-y swirls and the guitars sound like they’re being played at random… after its promising start, it seems like, even when they’re trying to do throwaway punk, Bloc Party still suffer from their age old problem that they don’t know how to finish a song.
‘Biko’
Things getting relaxed here – maybe, with its Greek theme, ‘Biko’ could be used to chill out those gentlemen in the saunas at Chariots Spa. ‘Biko’ starts with some gentle picking – a bit like Doves – as Kele’s low vox rumble underneath, then a high vocal starts singing lushly over the top. More love songs – Kele, what a sop, eh?! This builds up slowly, similar in tone to Radiohead’s ‘Videotape’, with loops slowly creeping and enveloping the soft instrumentation, adding an electro-aggro edge to proceedings. The end of the song peters out into spaced-out atmospherics.
‘Trojan Horse’
Back to high tempo again, the beginning of ‘Trojan Horse’ sees keyboards whipping up a sonic hurricane as Kele’s vocals remain nonplussed in the middle of it all. Industrial, stomping drums lead the way and the jangle of guitars can be heard beneath the electronic thrusts. Mid-way through, a spiky, fuzzed-up guitar solo accelerates the song forward – “just take me back to the start,” says Kele. But we’re starting to feel like we’d rather go straight to the end. The song finishes abruptly, just as it’s starting to get good…
‘Signs’
Beginning with chiming glockenspiels, ‘Signs’ is more like something Sigur Ros would concoct. A bass drum nonchalantly stomps in and an electro(using this word a lot aren’t I? Sensing a theme?) wall of sound hums in and out, Eno-esque. Nothing memorable actually happens but ‘Signs’ is quite nice incidental music. Bloc Party – music for taking a bath to, who’d have thought, eh?! The warmth of real strings glide in towards the end, embarking on a sort of non-violent battle with the electronic strings, albeit a battle where people just chat very politely with each other – how very Bloc Party. V understated but prob best song yet.
‘One Month Off’
Immediately making up for ‘Signs’’ lack of OOMMMMPH, ‘One Month Off’ kicks in with a massive, throbbing drumbeat, although, for some reason, ancient electro-cheesemongers Republic pop into our head. Try to rid that thought. The chorus sees the song veer into more familiar Bloc Party territory, with wiry, gangling guitar lines vying for attention.
‘Zephyrus’
This starts off with bleeps’n’beats that sound very, very similar to Radiohead’s ’15 Step’ – seems releasing ‘Intimacy’ early online wasn’t the only inspiration the Oxford legends supplied – and Kele’s vox are buried deep in the mix, before a choir of electro(there we go again!)-voices building up to a climax just before – in true Bloc Party fashion – as its about to build to a thrilling finale, nothing happens.
‘Better Than Heaven’
‘Better Than Heaven’ starts with a bassy judder and echo’d, spiralling guitar. The chorus might be minimal but it’s one of the catchiest on the album – Kele channelling the spirit of Dave Gahan with some indelible, melancholic hooks. It kicks in halfway through with an irascible, sonic explosion and Russell Lissack does his best Jonny Greenwood impression, standing on all his effects at once. Guess he has big feet. And you know what they say about big feet. BIG COCK.
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‘Intimacy’ ends with a whimper as ‘Ion Square’ comes across like a medley of all of its boring bits, three and so minutes of nothing much happening. Ends with some wiry guitars and some whispered vocals as the album limps to a close.
Fly Verdict:
Whilst ‘Intimacy’ is probably their best album sonically, it lacks their debut’s bravado spark and shares ‘A Weekend In The City’’s problem that Bloc Party don’t know how to finish a song with style – tracks either peter out when they should explode, or carry on exploding long after they’ve reached a peak. That said, there’s some lush soundscapes, most notably on the likes of ‘Biko’ and ‘Signs’ – songs that probably deserve closer attention away from the office stereo. Even those, though, can’t shake the nagging feeling that Bloc Party still haven’t nailed their potential – there’s a definitive album in them, and this isn’t it.
Niall Doherty
