Silent Alarm
The London foursome bring together punk and funk, love and politics on this wondrously fun and emotional 2005 debut. *Silent Alarm* rockets right out of the gate: Its first four tracks, undeniable highlights all, are driven by a taut, propulsive rhythm section. A duo of chiming guitars intertwines, and Kele Okereke\'s yelps build the tension, which eventually explodes on syncopated dance punk anthem \"Banquet.\" The band then slowly unwinds with \"Blue Light\" and \"This Modern Love,\" the kind of big, dramatic ballads that have the power to make you dance while you cry.
Building on the success of their early singles and EP, the UK's Bloc Party draw from the darker end of their homeland's 1980s indie pop canon to create a powerful debut LP. The silly bandname may bely their sober and resolute sound, but it's of little consequence in the shadow of this record's charismatic sophistication and outstanding songwriting that emphasizes substance-over-style, contrasting with their peers in Interpol and Franz Ferdinand.
Much more polished, serious, and straight-ahead than their initial EPs suggested, Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, reveals them as a band equally informed by taut art-punk and the grand gestures and earnestness of groups like Coldplay and U2.
Batten down the hatches and light the torches. Bloc Party is Paul Revere music