Along with a line-up change, Bloc Party’s meditative fifth album takes a new musical direction that could turn long-time fans off.
Bloc Party/ Hymns
London indie-rock quartet Bloc Party rose to fame in the mid-2000s with their critically acclaimed debut album Silent Alarm. Fusing elements of guitar rock, post-punk and electro-dance, they ranked among a few indie bands who managed to exert dominance over the music scene well into the late noughties with subsequent studio records, 2007’s A Weekend in the City and 2008’s Intimacy. Frontman Kele Okereke and Co are behind some of the most recognisable and exhilarating indie anthems to have emerged from said period including Banquet, So Here We Are, Helicopter, Hunting for Witches and Flux.
After a four-year hiatus following the release of their last album, simply titled Four, and the departure of drummer Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes, Bloc Party’s remaining two members Okereke and Russell Lissack recruited Justin Harris (bass, keyboards) and Louise Bartle (drums) to join them on Hymns, the band’s fifth studio album inspired by devotional music and books of hymns found at Okereke’s parents’ house.
“Lord, give me grace and dancing feet/As I conquer all anxiety,” Okereke implores in the opening verse of upbeat lead single/album opener The Love Within. Name-dropping “angel”, “evil” and “god”, he makes clear his intentions to appeal to or connect with a higher power — a sentiment that permeates throughout the album (it’s called Hymns for a reason, after all). Next track, Only He Can Heal Me, finds him summoning his spiritual saviour: “When the trappings of the body/Lead me to that hopeless place/And I feel my spirit crumble/Under strain and under guilt/Lay me down in rivers cleansing.”
Apart from the religious undertones found on country-inspired The Good News (“My pastor tells me that my light is dimming”) and Virtue (“Lord, help me fight/This desire for fire”), the album also tackles failed romance on a good handful of break-up songs (So Real, Fortress, Different Drugs, My True Name, Living Lux). “What am I supposed to do/When the only good thing about me was you?” Okereke wonders on one, and laments “We’re trapped inside this room/With no window or rear view/And now you’re backing away from me” on another.
To Bloc Party’s long-time fans looking to jump, yelp and cut a rug alongside the lads like the good old days, Hymns will most likely be the stuff of disappointment. Here, the raw urgency of their previous material is replaced with something more restrained and spiritual, making this record far removed from the band’s traditional sound. And while we couldn’t be more glad about the fact that Okereke has found solace in faith (good on him!), let’s face it, not everyone is as keen on salvation and redemption — and most certainly not as far as a Bloc Party album is concerned.
THE PLAYLIST
Jelly Rocket/ Imjai
Rising all-female trio Jelly Rocket have consistently been releasing excellent singles since late 2014 (How Long, Forgotten, Meow), and their latest, Imjai (Glad), is no exception. Underpinned by spectral basslines, the song is a slow burner on which vocalist Pun Nonlapun sings about the object of her affection. “Cut off from the entire world/I see no one in sight but you/I feel a turmoil of emotions inside, you’re giving me butterflies,” she confesses as drums and guitar join her, tying everything up nicely together.
Bat For Lashes/ I Do
After releasing an enigmatic album under psych-folk side project Sexwitch last year, British artist Natasha Khan returns as Bat For Lashes with a new cut, I Do. The saccharine ballad follows Khan’s third Bat For Lashes album, 2012’s The Haunted Man, and finds her crooning alongside stately harp and strings. So far we’re given no further details except for the accompanying video showing what seems to be a wedding invitation. “Save the Date, 1st July 2016, ’Til death do us part,” reads the card. Is she rolling out a wedding-themed album or is she actually getting hitched? Let the speculation fly!
Kevin Morby/ I Have Been To The Mountain
Kevin Morby, former member of Woods and The Babies, is one prolific musician. Following his two studio albums in 2013 and 2014, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter has just released his third, Singing Saw, on which powerful lead single I Have Been To The Mountain appears. The song, dedicated to and inspired by the death of Eric Garner, touches on the issue of police brutality (“That man lived in this town/’Til that pig took him down”). On paper this may sound heavy, but it’s actually a pretty breezy number, thanks to the jubilant horn section and backup singers.
One Direction/ History
“You gotta help me, I’m losing my mind,” implores Harry Styles on History, the third single off One Direction’s fifth LP, Made in the AM. Part of the song’s charm comes from its simple clap-happy acoustic vibes and irresistible chorus that invites the listener to chant along like it’s nobody’s business. (“You and me got a whole lot of history/We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen!”) As with their musically similar previous offering Story of My Life, this is yet another infectious guilty pleasure from the English heartthrobs.
Jonas Blue (featuring Dakota)/ Fast Car
Tracy Chapman’s 1988 beloved classic Fast Car gets a dance makeover here courtesy of emerging London-based producer Jonas Blue. Teaming up with vocalist Dakota, Blue has turned the iconic folk number into a tropical house jam built on formulaic four-to-the-floor beat, pulsating basslines and beguiling piano chords. Nothing you haven’t heard before, but still it’s a fitting soundtrack for those hazy evenings of lazing around by the pool and sipping pina coladas while watching the sun go down. Inventive or sacrilegious? You decide.
