sun 08/12/2024

CD: Bloc Party – Four | reviews, news & interviews

CD: Bloc Party – Four

CD: Bloc Party – Four

Sensible yet scratchy guitar heroes reconvene, but are they wiser or just older?

He's still Kele from the Bloc. Kele Okereke and co rekindle the old magic

Bloc Party's fourth album comes after a lengthy break during which various members did various things with varying degrees of success. Most notably vocalist Kele Okereke pursued a more synth-based, dance-flavoured direction with mixed results. There was no messy fallout so it is no surprise to see these nice, polite chaps back together again.

What would be really nice, however, would be if they had taken a leaf out of Britrock contemporaries Maccabees' book and shown some red-blooded beefy maturity this time round.

Four is a terrific, traffic-stopping album. But only if you are already a Bloc Party fan and particularly if you are a fan of their early, itchy work. All the constituent elements are present and correct from their past. Russell Lissack's juddery, post-Gang of Four guitar slices and dices through the melody and is particularly effective on the opening track "So He Begins to Lie" and "Octopus". Drummer Matt Tong’s rhythms gets under your skin and bassist Gordon Moakes anchors the sound with utter conviction. Okereke's vocals are as gentle-yet-muscular as ever, exerting a delicate authority over proceedings. All catnip for college kids.

But there is still something missing. It is both a plus and a minus that it feels as if the quartet has never been away. The slightly earnest, romantic lyrics do not shed much light on the missing years, except on "Kettling", where they tangentally address the riots of 2011, with Okereke singing "The future's ours... we can feel it in our bones". A nice sentiment, but if the band is going to be world-conquering they are going to have to up their game more than this. Despite a break that should have reinvigorated them, Four suggests a mild but not incurable case of creative bloc(k).

Follow Bruce Dessau on Twitter

Watch Bloc Party perform "Octopus"

Okereke's vocals are gentle yet muscular, exerting a delicate authority over proceedings

rating

Editor Rating: 
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters