[The Coldplaying Review] Bloc Party- Weekend in the city

[chlorofit]

 

The album is due for release on February 5, 2007

 

After finally getting the leaked new Bloc Party album i must say my feelings are a bit messed up with both disapointment and pleasure. Silent alarm slowly got me through months of listening, and that's the main compliment for it-making you listen it again and again through longer period of time. I'm afraid Weekend in the city wont do that for me.

 

The album starts with (Song for Clay -dissapear here-) silent Okereke's voice that strikes me as a best possible sequence to Compliments, last song on debut, which shortly afterwards turns into a real rock opener for a album that strikes me as a promising. Strong drum beats is still the thing Bloc Party can compete on global level of music and its history. Guitar solo shortly takes over the main role and proves once again their success. I have to say that this song reminds me of FF, though in much harder version.Just a hunch, i guess.End of it reminds of their own Pioneers.

Album continues with Hunting for witches, opening reminds me of Aphex Twin and Radiohead combined, kinda electronic that later on album proves to be a New Way Bloc Party slowly includes into their classic tune.That intro vanishes very quicly as guitar takes it over.Song lyricly is very much political oriented but very very simply done, and it can't carry strong lyrics.

Next song is Waiting for 7.18 One more that proves how good drumer Matt is,esp. with the xysilophone in the background at the start of the song.Later on, the guitar is the one that guides Okereke's voice.One of the best produced songs on whole album. The Prayer is the first single that will be released and it fully deserves it,maybe even the best song on whole album. Beautiful lyrics combined with perfect rhytm in this case. Later on appears the same solo Lissack did on Helicopter from the debut that reminds me greately of Jonny Greenwoods solo in Go To Sleep. Uniform is the 5th song where Okereke's the one that leads the whole band forward and without his special voice this song would be really bad. Possible single in commercial way, but not in quality one, at least not for me. On is the second song on this album that starts with electronic beat, which delights me. Later on Matt's beats with Lissack's very interesting pedal guitar effects lead to huge cressendo that brings great anxiety similar to one Johnny Cash brings through song Hurt. the feeling and the way it's presented,not music thogh. One more highlight on Bloc's new album. Where is home? is song that continues On in quality way with best drum beat on the whole album. Okereke's falsetto in chours really bring the song to the top.Once again there's nice electronic beat after which there's the best instrumental part in the whole album- brilliant.

Kreuzberg is an ode song for one part of Berlin. Very old Bloc Party song. Slow one. Theres again Song for Clay, one more highlight for this album, beautiful lyrics that turned a ballad in a "interpolish" up-beat one. possible single, obviously. I still remember has an Arcade Fire opener with interesting, still pop , guitar riffs. The riff that's sympathic but still like a rip off of classic indie melody that only Arhitecture in Helsinki, Arcade Fire or Clap your hands say yeah can pull out. It does blend with the whole song but it still seems really un-natural, almost plastic.

Weekend in the city finishes with two beautiful love songs. First one is Sunday which has really beautiful harmony and outro. And the last one is SXRT, a song that clearly sums up what Bloc Party can do and hasn't done on this album with beautiful harmony that reminds me of the whole Christmas vibe, or should i say indie Christmas vibe?! :)

 

So..Weekend in a city is a story album, very coherent and sometimes even too much so it turns into pretty blend and weak album without ideas. Songs are very similar to each other and there are few highlights that give this album higher rating. The main problem is the unneccessary lenght of songs (almost every single one is 4-5 min.) which could be easily prevented without Okereke's parts at the end of several songs or guitar ones.

Maybe too much prodution that usually happens on band's second or even third (Coldplay) album. The one that suffocates all the hard work that BP clearly did.There are new things in their sound (electronic) that they pulled out very nicely. Matt Tong proves as one of the best drummers in the last ten years of music. Lyricly? More personal IMO.

Nice album that probably grows up with several listens, if you can force yourselves. ;)

 

Highlights

- Song for Clay (disappear here)

- The Prayer

- On

- Where is home?

- Song for Clay

-Sunday

-SXRT

 

Trivia: Words Vampire and Weekend appear so many times so it really is clear how they picked album title. :)

 

 

Rating: 7.5

[MrMagpie]

Nice review. I think I'll check out the album now. :P

[chlorofit]

thank you, i think i did it badly.

[MrMagpie]

No its fine. I submitted my first review. I like seeing different formats of how people review. That way I can change how I do mine. But I really liked yours, not too long or anything but gives a good feel for the album.

[chlorofit]

thank you. :)

[MrMagpie]

Comparing the two albums, what would you give Silent Alarm compared to AWITC?

[chlorofit]

comparing the two of them def. 9.4

[MrMagpie]

I bought Silent Alarm for no good reason, never had listened to Bloc Party or anything. I'm not a huge fan but my friends who hear it love it and a few even went out and bought it.

[chlorofit]

i like it, but just like i said it it really needs time to grow on (silent alarm, as for witc i dont know)

[Sam]

Nice review. Now we're starting to get the ball rolling.

[Ondes Martenot]

awesome Zorana, high five :kiss:

 

i'd write some notes, but i'm too tired now (after a party...). so i'll do them tomorrow ;)

[chlorofit]

thank you guys :blush:

 

sorry for my bad english.

[chlorofit]

just to put it up a bit, it's pretty actual these days.