Four
Having steadily drifted away from traditional rock and towards electronica, Bloc Party reacquaint themselves with their effects pedals on this fourth album. From the buzzsaw guitars backing Kele Okereke’s menacing whisper on “3 X 3” to the heavy metal-tinged stomp of “Kettling”, the elemental power of their 2005 debut, *Silent Alarm*, is a frequent touchstone. But *Four*—as evidenced by the deliriously catchy hummingbird riff of “Octopus”—isn’t afraid to experiment, straining forward even as it stylistically retreats.
The London band's new record appears to be an exercise in propaganda for their combined health: Alluding to the bond between the band's members and having reached the fourth LP in their catalog, Four feels like revisionist history in action.
In recent years, the members of Bloc Party have spent their down time in various side projects. Frontman Kele Okereke’s extracurricular gigs have been the most high-profile—a dance-music-inspired solo album, The Boxer, as well as vocal cameos on songs by superstar DJs Tiësto and Martin Solveig—while guitarist Russell…
This is an all-guns-blazing return, demonstrating a buffet of sounds from previous works and a heap of fresh noises creating, by far, Bloc Party's heaviest album.
When Bloc Party went on a lengthy hiatus after the release of their third album Intimacy, it didn't seem like they needed to get back together.
The band that gave us the golden post-alterna gems Silent Alarm (2005) and A Weekend in the City (2007) returns after four years with their fourth album casually named Four, and if the title seems like easy street, its 12 tracks follow suit with the nonch
It’s annoying when people say they’re one-tenth Portuguese or half-Italian when they’ve just got a little bit of a tan or their mum can’t cook anything but pasta.
Bloc Party's fourth album is a return to combative form, writes <strong>Phil Mongredien</strong>
Four is a vacant display of miscellany, a rather depressing scenario considering its makers were once genre-definers.
Bloc Party make a show of returning to their live, rocking roots, but can't always keep the pace going, writes <strong>Maddy Costa</strong>
Bloc Party - Four review: Bloc Party abandon all progress made on their last two records and attempt to make a fan pleasing record while simultaneously throwing in a bunch of new influences resulting in a huge mess that is all over the place and on the whole unpleasant.<script src
Bloc Party's fourth album comes after a lengthy break during which various members did various things with varying degrees of success. Most notably vocalist Kele Okereke pursued a more synth-based, dance-flavoured direction with mixed results. There was no messy fallout so it is no surprise to see these nice, polite chaps back together again.