New Bloc Party album this Thursday?!

[GirlsAloudFan]

^ Me too.

 

[powerhour24]

As a collection of songs its still growing on me, I find myself slowly liking all tracks (with the exception of Ares, and sometimes Better Than Heaven) but AWITC did what this and Silent Alarm didn't... created an actual album, with flow, thematic similarities and a sound that really worked together. Silent Alarm is a blockbuster debut, with a raw indie dance-rock sound, and the beginnings of the kinds of ballads they've been able to write, but AWITC while polished is a mature progression and a solid album. Intimacy yes is the weakest of the three, showing an awful lot of influences that don't all go down in one take, and a whole lot of further potential for future work, but its not a great album altogether, which given the time-frame isn't surprising, and we'll see if the physical release changes things, but Kele admitted they're flying by the seat of their pants and don't know what will be included on that yet.

That said, while it seemed only OK from them at first, I'm really loving "Trojan Horse"

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

^ Yeah, I'm really really liking Trojan Horse.

And I've said it about 5 times now in this thread but, damn, this album is good.

 

[powerhour24]

Lyrically its a regression from AWITC, which featured some poignant poetic songs, here even on great songs there are an awful lot of clunkers, particularly the line about the funeral in signs, and as soaring as Ion Square's chorus is its rather unoriginal. But overall I'm still a big fan.

 

[powerhour24]

Also "One Month Off" is the perfect example of the pairing of AWITC's producer Jackknife Lee and SA's Paul Epworth...although some of it does scream "Banquet"...not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

 

[intedomine]

Interesting album. Certainly a new sound, if anything closer to SA than AWITC.

I've only listened to it twice. 'Signs' is gorgeous and 'Biko' is immensely sweet, 'Trojan Horse' is exciting. 'Ion Square' sounds like an epic 'I Still Remember' yet doesn't hit the same heights that that song did. 'One Month Off' is basic but fun.

'Ares' is like "Setting Sun' reworked for the Noughties....how can anyone listen to that song without anticipating Noel Gallagher's vocal: "You're the devil in me I brought in from the cold"

That said, I miss the how conceptual and the clarity ofWeekend In The City - something a little haphazard about this offering from only two listens - will probably grow with time though.

 

[FitzChivalry]

'Ares' is like "Setting Sun' reworked for the Noughties....how can anyone listen to that song without anticipating Noel Gallagher's vocal: "You're the devil in me I brought in from the cold"


- something a little haphazard about this offering . . .

I couldn't agree with both of these statements more! I even posted a few pages back that from my very first listen I heard The Chemical Brothers in 'Ares'.

It is a mixed bag, and I think the electronic-y, odd songs work better than the straight-ahead, old-school Bloc songs . . . with the exception of Trojan Horse (which I think is fantastic).

I'd hate to think "Silent Alarm" was their peak. I still hope they have a "Great One" in them, and yet to come.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Seeing as how this is quickly becoming my favorite album of the year, I decided to give it an intense headphones listen this morning to try to decipher some lyrics. Some thoughts...

ARES - I think this is the only song that doesn't directly address a failed relationship. WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR! I want to declare a war!...great opening lines. I think it's also their attempt at making a club song. Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Puma, whoa whoa whoa, this shit is long!

MERCURY - Love it. A hell of a lot of fun. The chorus is infectious in its own chaotic way. There's also a great reference to getting wasted!..."Scars on my shins, scars on my knuckles, today I woke up in the basketball court. Jonjo's in Sydney and he ain’t returning. I’m sitting in Soho trying to stay drunk..."

HALO - It's not about the video game as I had first suspected! Gorgeous lyrics, in fact, about falling in love with a girl..."It was your hair that did it, it was your hair that lit the fuse. A golden-brown halo like sunlight peeling through trees. I ask you for the time,
but I am asking for so much more. A moth to your light bulb you made my heart beat faster. Paralyse me with your kiss. Wipe those dirty hands on me. Maybe we're looking for the same thing. Maybe you're the one who'll complete me..."

BIKO - One of my favorites. A dying relationship..."For my sweetheart the melancholy, you have crossed the River Styx. And the waves have taken you away. As I lay my head on your chest I can hear it in your veins. Wake me up when you come to bed..." Also, Biko is the God of healing in Japan.

TROJAN HORSE - A really good rocker. Very bluntly about a breakup. "You used to take your watch off before we made love. You didn't want to share our time with anyone.
You used to close your eyes when we kissed goodbye. You didn't want to see me draped in sadness..."

SIGNS - My personal favorite song on the album and possibly my favorite Bloc song to date. Just beautiful. "Two ravens in the old oak tree and one for you and one for me and bluebells in the late December. I see signs now all the time. The last time we slept together, there was something that was not there. You never wanted to alarm me, but I’m the one that’s drowning now..."

ONE MONTH OFF - Another infectious little song. Possibly about how Kele was cheated on and now he's going to return the favor - "I can be as cruel as you, fighting fire with firewood. I can be as cruel as you, fighting lies with lies..."

ZEPHYRUS - Possibly my least favorite. But I love the delivery on the chorus - "And all you said, in your quietest voice was 'I needed you as much as they do' And all you said, in your quietest voice was 'I needed you as much as they do'"

BETTER THAN HEAVEN - It's possible that Kele was not happy with his partner's obsession with religion (Corinthians 15:22) and scholastics (put down your books). There's a lot of lyrics on this album about the boredom that sets in during a long relationship - "You get sadder the smarter you get. And it's a bore. You get sadder the smarter you get. And it's a bore..."

ION SQUARE - A great closer and a sort-of summary of the themes of the album. Past happiness, current loneliness, staying strong after heartbreak. A strange line though near the end - "I love my mind when I'm fucking you"

Anyway, awesome album. I love it very much. I'm gonna go smoke a cigarette now.

 

[u2popmofo]

Here's a much more positive review. (though I found it a to be a bit annoying in how it was written and presented, unfortunately)

Bloc Party: Intimacy < Music | PopMatters

 

[powerhour24]

I read the review from BBC's website, which is odd because its highly positive, but mentions "Ion Square" as a clunker

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

My Mercury's in retrograde motherfuckeerrs!!!

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Hi everyone. Guess what?

My mercury's in retrograde.

 

[intedomine]

They've done it again. A trio of songs to maybe match the awesomeness of Kreuzberg-I Still Remember-Sunday.

Trojan Horse - Signs - One Month Off - - the album shines through these songs.

It's a real grower of an album too, hearing cool things everywhere, even in Zephyrus and Ares which took a while to appreciate.

Dodgy lyric misinterpretation of mine

"Biko, toughen up" = "We've got Half an hour"

 

[GibsonGirl]

I've had the "speed! agility! super strength!" line stuck in my head all day.

 

[FitzChivalry]

In my Inbox right now:


08 September 2008

Hello!

We will be premiering a brand new single on Zane Lowe's Radio One show TOMORROW NIGHT. If you've bought or pre-ordered the album already you will get it delivered as a FREE DOWNLOAD after it's played on the radio, and the track will be on the CD release in October.

The track is one of the last songs we recorded during the 'Intimacy' sessions and we always had it in mind to be one of the extra tracks for the CD version if it turned out well. It turned out great so we decided to make it the next single.

 

[u2popmofo]

AWESOME

 

[powerhour24]

So its a single from the album just released... but it wasn't included on that haha. To sell the physical release, cool. And they sure love Zane Lowe.

 

[u2popmofo]

The song is supposed to be up on their Myspace. I can't visit Myspace at work, so I cannot confirm.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

There's a track called 'Talons' up on their MySpace right now. Is that it?

I'm listening to it right now. The intro to the song is heavy. I like it.

 

[AtomicBono]

I like it a lot. This may end of being one of the better tracks on the album. This is a good integration of the old school Bloc sound and the new more electronic, layered Bloc.

for fun...

ARES (5/5) - Awesome, aggressive way to start. I love Kele's attitude in this one and the crazy war cries, and of course the drums.
MERCURY (4.5/5) - Great dance track - had fun dancing to it at my dance party. It doesn't seem weird to me at all anymore. Very well produced.
HALO (5/5) - Fuck. Yes. This is the aggressive, rockin', energetic, Luno-esque Bloc Party I love. Easily my favourite. I love the bridge especially. Go Lissack!
BIKO (3/5) - A pretty song, but I feel it could have been more. I wish it had changed a bit instead of being the same guitar part over and over.
TROJAN HORSE (4/5) - Reminds me a lot of Hunting for Witches, but the end of the song is something else. If the rest of the song was that awesome it would definitely be 5/5.
SIGNS (5/5) - Gorgeous. Love it. The strings toward the end are just perfect.
ONE MONTH OFF (3/5) - Definitely sounds like old school Bloc, but it doesn't hit me like Halo does. It kind of sounds like a rehash of Banquet at some points. Still, I like it.
ZEPHYRUS (4/5) - One of the more interesting tracks on the album. I think the choir thing is really cool, and it creates a strange effect when combined with the dance/hip hop beat.
BETTER THAN HEAVEN (5/5) - The end of this song is possibly the most satisfying part of the entire album.
ION SQUARE (4.5/5) - Well, who doesn't love the buildup on this track? And as GAF pointed out, some...interesting lyrics.

overall I still say this is Bloc's weakest album, but it's not that much worse than AWITC, which I love. So I don't really feel that they're declining. However the next album better be a damn masterpiece

I'll rate Talons once I've listened to it more, but right now I'd give it at least a 4/5.

 

[u2popmofo]

'Talons' is up for those who pre-ordered the album! Downloading now.

 

[powerhour24]

Its a pretty badass song, not sure who it'll work as a single to sell the album, or where they'll put it, but I'm liking it a lot on first listen.

 

[phanan]

I like Talons as well. I wonder where it will be placed on the album.

I'm loving this album.

 

[u2popmofo]

I don't know what I think about it. It's ok, but I was expecting it to be much better considering they chose it as the second single instead of something they'd already put on the "album". It sorta sounds like a b-side to me right now to be honest....

 

[powerhour24]

I think its better than some of the tracks on the digital release. "One Month Off" screamed single though, or "Trojan Horse"

 

[FitzChivalry]

I think its better than some of the tracks on the digital release.

Yeah, 'Talons' is better than some of the songs on the digital release.

I'll say it again, I think they should've gone with all the songs being weird and electronic-y. The Paul Epworth tunes just don't really do it for me. I mean, yeah they rock hard but (to me) they're not all that memorable, unlike the "Silent Alarm" tunes, which rocked hard and were memorable, or the "A Weekend In The City" tunes which, in my mind, are very memorable, even if they don't all rock hard.

Sitting here now, I can't really call up in my mind the melodies, riffs or tunes for 'One Month Off' or 'Halo'. And I've listened to the album a ton of times. 'Biko', 'Trojan Horse', and 'Better Than Heaven' are a bit more memorable to me than One Month Off or Halo, but not by that much.

However, I can clearly hear 'Ares', 'Mercury', 'Signs' and 'Ion Square'.

Really, it's about half the songs that I just feel were maybe kind of rushed and therefore sort of bland and undercooked, causing them to be somewhat forgettable.

'Talons' should be on the album. That's one crackin' and memorable tune.

 

[AtomicBono]

Sitting here now, I can't really call up in my mind the melodies, riffs or tunes for 'One Month Off' or 'Halo'. And I've listened to the album a ton of times. 'Biko', 'Trojan Horse', and 'Better Than Heaven' are a bit more memorable to me than One Month Off or Halo, but not by that much.

Really? Halo to me is very memorable. My favourite song off the album...and Better Than Heaven is probably my second favourite. One Month Off I agree with you though...it just is sort of generic Bloc Party to me.

Talons is one of the better songs. I'd say it's about equal to Ares and Ion Square and behind Halo, Better Than Heaven, and Signs.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I'm a big fan of One Month Off. "I can be as cruel as you...fighting fire with firewood"

But, then again, I'm a big fan of every song on Intimacy.

Still need to give Talons a few more listens.

Should I do that right now? Yes.

 

[powerhour24]

Apparently it'll fit in between Zepherus and Better Than Heaven on the album.

 

[intedomine]

Halo aint doing anything for me. Foo Fighter's Halo was better. Completely different song, but shared the same title.