Register for E-mail alerts. Comment on articles. Sign up today, it's easy.
Close
The Washington Times Online Edition

LISTENING STATION: ‘Intimacy’ has the right touch

Bloc Party is worlds away from the indie band it was for its debut in 2005.Bloc Party is worlds away from the indie band it was for its debut in 2005.

Bloc Party

Intimacy

Atlantic Records

The biggest surprise of “Intimacy,” Bloc Party’s third full-length studio album, is its very existence. In a Web chat with fans last week, the British indie band announced that the disc would drop online within a matter of days, with a physical CD to follow in late October. In its suddenness, the move mirrored Radiohead’s advance online release of “In Rainbows.”

Yet Bloc Party’s labels (Wichita in the United Kingdom and Atlantic in the United States) aren’t allowing the quartet to be quite as generous as Radiohead, which adopted the novel strategy of allowing listeners to pay what they wanted to download “In Rainbows.” “Intimacy” clocks in at $10 for the digital download, $20 if you want to pre-order the CD as well.

The new album is a mixture of grandeur and grandiosity with lush, intense synthesized orchestrations that occasionally swell like movie scores. Frontman Kele Okereke and producers Paul Epworth and Garret “Jacknife” Lee preserve the essence of the Bloc Party sound — minor-key rock thrumming with rhythmic intensity — while taking the band in a new direction.

Bloc Party is a world away from being the four-piece indie band of its 2005 debut, “Silent Alarm,” on which the musicians sounded like four guys experiencing the sheer joy of wailing on their instruments. On “Intimacy,” the music is considerably more sophisticated — with polyrhythms, blattering synth horns and a new palette of electronic sound effects.

“Intimacy” puts the band’s disappointing sophomore effort, “Weekend In the City,” in a new context — as a warm-up for the transformation from guitar-driven rock to a more eclectic electronic sound. Indeed, the track “Biko,” a melancholy song that uses arpeggiated guitar chords to convey an amalgam of longing and regret, feels like a musical reworking of last year’s “Hunting for Witches.”

Mr. Okereke’s voice spans many moods. On the opening track “Ares,” he’s powerful and commanding. On “Mercury,” he blends almost timidly into the background, as if aware that his vocal part is not the focal point of the song. On “One Month Off,” he sounds innocent and hurt, while on “Halo,” he comes off as a blase rocker.

The single “Mercury” is emblematic of the band’s new approach. It opens with a barrage of rap effects, including looping edits of Mr. Okereke’s vocal track, a sprinkling of scratch, beat-boxing and old-school hip-hop beats.

The song builds with horn bursts that begin as low growls before gradually asserting themselves — sounding a bit like the aggressive, syncopated soundtrack that accompanies the choreographed fight scenes in classic samurai movies. From there, the song accelerates into an orgy of synth, conga drums and strings before expiring, seemingly from its own intensity.

This four-minute track is easily the most ambitious and one of the most fully realized songs of the popular band’s brief career.

Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
You Might Also Like
  • Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Mesa, Ariz., on Monday. Arizona holds its GOP presidential primary on Feb. 28, the same day as Michigan, the home state of the former Massachusetts governor. (Associated Press)

    Romney finds tough times in Michigan

    By Andrea Billups - The Washington Times

  • TRAILING: Rick Santorum has won four states but just three delegates so far. Mitt Romney also has won four states but has 73 delegates. He is waging a strong effort to beat Mr. Santorum in Michigan. (Associated Press)

    Victory doesn’t always mean gain in delegates

    By Seth McLaughlin - The Washington Times

  • Education Department deploys ‘mystery shoppers’ to check for fraud

    By Jim McElhatton - The Washington Times

  • In Case You Missed It
    Happening Now

          Independent voices from the TWT Communities

          Travel the World

          It's a big world to play in, and learn from. Join us as we travel it's boundaries and beyond.

          Urban Game Changer

          A mother of three and a passionate conservative, Shirley Husar changes the game with commentary on the political game ala California, U.S.A.

          The Cutting Edge

          For entrepreneurs and executives, The Cutting Edge will offer valuable insight into how to use technology to compete more effectively in today’s economy