Four
(2012)
why you'll love it: Strong approachable rock release, with subtle innovation
why you'll hate it: Bloc Party continues to defy fan service, maybe a bit too mainstream
I hate talking generes, but gotta make a point here, so...
BLOC PARTY is a BRITSH ROCK BAND that got their big break with a POST-PUNK REVIVAL debut album called Silent Alarm! It isn't until their very latest release, Four, that I've finally taken notice of their "hey, fuck genres" manifesto their discography paints. Silent Alarm was a big deal. It brought back a very popular sound from the late seventies in bands like XTC and Gang of Four. I feel if not for that release, you wouldn't have bands like Foals seeing success. I, and most people, saw their electronic ballad filled (Weekend in The City) and electro-clash (Intimacy) follow ups to be huge swing-and-misses in terms of continuing the Silent Alarm legacy. How can a band un-learn how to do what made their debut so great?
Surely I thought Block Party was done. Four caught me by surprise for even existing. Discovering that it is a loud and heavy Foo Fighters sized rock album surprised me even more. Then came the revelation that I should have known all along. Bloc Party never drifted astray from their roots. They have no roots. Silent Alarm just happened to be the stye of music they wanted to experiment with first. It just so happened to make the biggest impact on everyone. They never intended to be a "post-punk" band, just as well as never wanting to evolve into overclocked break-beat whatever the heck that was going on in Intimacy (hey, I liked that album. People give it way too much shit). They're just shifting from sound to sound with no real destination, just to be different.
So yeah, Four is Bloc Party leaning hard on their guitars and turning the amps way up. I love Kele Okereke's maniacal delivery in "3x3" as the beat rains down like a monsoon. "Kettling", "Team A", and "We Are Not Good People" all rock with a fury. In fact, I like this album more than Foo Fighters' latest rocksplosion, Wasting Light. There are a few ballads that fall flat ("The Truth" and "The Healing"), but a few that nail it. "Real Talk: is one of my favorite tracks on here, sounding just like a John Frusciante song.
There is also some creative experimenting with an otherwise straightforward rock approach. "Octopus" uses a skipping reverb effect that makes it the closest thing to a return to Silent Alarm that they have ever done. They may have done it begrudgingly, or maybe I'm looking too deep into the yawns and sighing before the track starts. "Coliseum" starts off with a strange backwoods cajun beat before unleashing the heaviest blast of rock on the album.
The two clunkers at the end of this album don't even factor into my final opinion. I think this album is one of the best of the year, and Bloc Party's strongest release to date. Obviously nothing is going to unseat Silent Alarm as everyone's favorite (present company included), but this is the release that makes me finally "get" Bloc Party, and makes me respect how bold and experimental they are for a very popular mainstream band.
