Album Review: Bloc Party – Four

The boys from Bloc Party return with their (appropriately titled) fourth album, ‘Four’.

After a brief hiatus to allow Kele the chance to spread his Electro wings, the Bloc Party bus has rolled back into town with a few notable changes to the last time you saw from them (namely Alex Newport’s influence).

There’s a definite lean to heavier climes thanks to Newport – (previously involved with At The Drive-In & The Mars Volta) on ‘Four’ – opener ‘So He Begins To Lie’ features guitar so thick you could spread it on toast, while 2nd track ‘3×3′ features a slightly unsettling Kele breathlessly pleading “no, no, no” as a more ominous version of himself replies “yes”; it’s almost the musical version of a PSA of how not to act – especially as his voice has an extra husk around the edges which adds a slight new dimension to the overall sound.

That’s not to say the heaviness doesn’t work well; it’s just different if you were expecting a direct follow-up to 2008’s ‘Intimacy’: it’s less ‘Ares’ and more ‘A Weekend in The City’s’ ‘Hunting for Witches’ – as with the aforementioned ‘…Witches’ – they’ve always had a darker side to them but they’ve finally let it out in the open to bask in the moonlight (especially see: ‘We Are Not Good People’), it’s the classic Bloc Party guitar lick with teeth.

Having said that, it’s not all about the riffs – it’s the more pensive, softer tracks where Kele’s distinctive vocals are put their the best effect: ‘Truth’ and ‘Day Four’ are allowed to breathe and this is where the Bloc Party you know and love come to the fore – on the more frantic tracks, Kele’s melodies offer a subtle contrast, but on the more ‘spaceous’ ones (The Healing) it undulates around the rest of the track and feels a bit more comfortable.

Stand-out tracks are lead single ‘Octopus’ is a catchy, driving number that is undeniably ‘Bloc Party’, the aforementioned ‘Day Four’, along with the stop-starting riffs of ‘V.A.L.I.S’ and the banjo-twang of ‘Real Talk’.

It’s good to have them back; what they’ve done on ‘Four’ seems a deliberate move away from Kele’s solo project with more guitars and classic ‘guitars/drum/bass’ setup.
It’s not a revolution by any means – but it’s Bloc Party, and that’s why we love them.

By Robin Lewis

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