Bloc Party's new CD

mattmidgett

How is it? I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet and was wondering what people thought of it. I really like their first two albums, but prefer Silent Alarm to A Weekend in the City. It isn't because AWITC is a bad album, it is just because Silent Alarm is so awesome.

The only track I have heard off of the new disc is "Mercury" which is absolutely terrible. Hopefully this song is a bit of an anomaly, and the rest of the album is great. So, I guess if anyone has heard the new album by Bloc Party, "Intimacy", please share your thoughts.

Thanks,
Matt

muppet

I've tried, I really have, but I think this is just a band I will never get. Mercury is one of the stupidest songs I've ever heard, and the rest of their songs just seem like indie hipster stuff to me. Not a very good live act either.

My mates absoutely love them though.

harmless_little_f***

Loved their first album. Second one's OK. Everything else has been a monumental turd. They've had the most monumental nose-dive in quality I can remember from any band. 'Mercury's in retrograde'? What does it MEAN?

Julien

I love their music but I don't like the way the singer sings.

chimpat

I don't like Mercury but I think the cd overall is pretty good. There's a couple really strong tracks, especially towards the end of the album. It's definitely better than their last album in my opinion.

darthvedder

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Loved their first album. Second one's OK. Everything else has been a monumental turd. They've had the most monumental nose-dive in quality I can remember from any band. 'Mercury's in retrograde'? What does it MEAN?

Definitions of retrograde on the Web:

* move backward in an orbit, of celestial bodies
* move in a direction contrary to the usual one; "retrograding planets"
* moving from east to west on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in a direction opposite to that of the Earth
* of amnesia; affecting time immediately preceding trauma
* move back; "The glacier retrogrades"
* going from better to worse
* go back over; "retrograde arguments"
* regress: get worse or fall back to a previous condition
* retral: moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or contrary to a previous direction
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

makes you think, don't it?

Hawk123

There are some very Silent alarm like tracks on the newest album. Mercury is almost out of place. To be honest I really liked Bloc Party a couple years ago but there sound gets boring fast, I have no desire to listen to the new album again.

Jearlpam0925

Hawk123 wrote:

There are some very Silent alarm like tracks on the newest album. Mercury is almost out of place. To be honest I really liked Bloc Party a couple years ago but there sound gets boring fast, I have no desire to listen to the new album again.

Exactly, and that's why I'm afraid to buy this album. Silent Alarm kicked so much ass, and then AWITC just absolutely let me down. I would hope this doesn't.

itsevobaby

It took quite a few listens, but I'm quite into it now. It does seem a bit rushed in places though & often their ambition outweighs the result. Overall I find it a really interesting listen, there's certainly alot going on in all the songs. Ion Square is up there with their best.

chimpat

I wanted to bump this up because I've been listening to the album pretty much non-stop over the last week. I think it's WAY better than their last album, some awesome songs on here.

The key is skipping Mercury, what an awful song.....worst release of a single ever?

Kilgore_Trout

i think its overall a very strong album... much better than their last... check it out... and to whoever said they were bad live, i thought they were pretty good when i saw them at lolla

jervin007

I have seen them a few times live. Very good show with high energy. First album is awesome, second ok, hesitant to buy the third in fear of disappointment.

pearljam_addiction

in 2005 Bloc party was my FAVORITE band, i seriously listened to them that entire year, they were on track in my mind to be monumental!!!! Silent alarm was just amazing to me

they released their second album to some negative reviews, and to me i agreed somewhat with the critics, it seemed like they moved away from the original sound to a dancey/electronic sound. AWITC to me was just okay, maybe two or three songs that i really liked,

Intimacy..... wow....um....terrible!!!!! there is not one song that i like on hear, the whole album sounds like it should be played in some Electro Rave, I am HIGHLY dissappointed

pearlzepfan

I've been in love with british rock music since oasis in the 90s, but wow, the bands who I used to really dig our seriously disappointing me lately

Bloc Party's "Intimacy" nothing special
Razorlight's new album sucks
Dirty Pretty Things new album horrible (please reform the Libs)


The only albums I find to be rather above average, The Verve "Forth" and Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul"

drummerboy_73

I like Bloc Party about as much as I like munching on shards of broken glass...or sliding down a razor banister into a pool filled with rubbing alcohol.

mattmidgett

drummerboy_73 wrote:

I like Bloc Party about as much as I like munching on shards of broken glass...or sliding down a razor banister into a pool filled with rubbing alcohol.

Well, that reply was pretty useless. It is fine if you don't like Bloc Party, but honestly this wasn't a thread about how much you like Bloc Party or how much you hate them. It was set up so people who were interested in what the new album was like could get a sense of what to expect. I won't go off on a tangent about how much I hate it when people give useless or non-constructive responses or criticism only to increase their post count.

Anyway, I got the new Bloc Party disc "Intimacy" last week and have been listening to it pretty consistently ever since. I won't go as far as saying that I am let down by the album, but there really aren't any tracks that truly stand out to me other than the first two which do so only in how terrible they are, in my opinion. Absolutely horrendous way to open an album, but aside from those two songs I would say that the album is average. Sadly, it seems that Bloc Party is revealing itself to be somewhat of a one trick pony, in that most of their songs have begun to blend in with one another to me. I still love the first album and like the following two, I just wish that there were songs on this album that made me crave another spin like "Like Eating Glass", "Helicopter", "Banquet", or my all-time favorite "So Here We Are".

As for those discrediting their live show, I would have to disagree. I have seen them twice, once in a smaller venue (HOB in Dallas) and once at this year's Lollapalooza festival and I thought they were great both times. I guess it is a differing of opinions, but I will be sure to try and catch them if they ever come through Dallas again.

Thanks to all the previous posters who actually gave constructive criticism of the new album, I really appreciate it.

-Matt

RockinInCanada

Seen them a little over a month ago...hands down in my bottom five concerts of all time....pure garbage....horrible energy....they sounded horrible....wow I was joking about this show for days afterwards...really turned me off from them....

harmless_little_f***

mattmidgett wrote:

Well, that reply was pretty useless. It is fine if you don't like Bloc Party, but honestly this wasn't a thread about how much you like Bloc Party or how much you hate them. It was set up so people who were interested in what the new album was like could get a sense of what to expect. I won't go off on a tangent about how much I hate it when people give useless or non-constructive responses or criticism only to increase their post count.

Anyway, I got the new Bloc Party disc "Intimacy" last week and have been listening to it pretty consistently ever since. I won't go as far as saying that I am let down by the album, but there really aren't any tracks that truly stand out to me other than the first two which do so only in how terrible they are, in my opinion. Absolutely horrendous way to open an album, but aside from those two songs I would say that the album is average. Sadly, it seems that Bloc Party is revealing itself to be somewhat of a one trick pony, in that most of their songs have begun to blend in with one another to me. I still love the first album and like the following two, I just wish that there were songs on this album that made me crave another spin like "Like Eating Glass", "Helicopter", "Banquet", or my all-time favorite "So Here We Are".

Those are good songs, and all on the first album.

The fact they're one trick ponies isn't the problem for me... But two albums in they changed the trick from a good one to a shit one.

mattmidgett

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Those are good songs, and all on the first album.

The fact they're one trick ponies isn't the problem for me... But two albums in they changed the trick from a good one to a shit one.

A good point. I do think the last two albums have been more on the dull side. There are a few cuts on the second album that stood out to me "On" immediately comes to mind, but nothing really on "Intimacy". I like "Flux" a lot, but if I am not mistaken, this was a b-side from AWITC.

harmless_little_f***

mattmidgett wrote:

A good point. I do think the last two albums have been more on the dull side. There are a few cuts on the second album that stood out to me "On" immediately comes to mind, but nothing really on "Intimacy". I like "Flux" a lot, but if I am not mistaken, this was a b-side from AWITC.

Yeah, I only heard it twice but I quite liked AWITC. It seemed like Block Party's original sound but mellower and more chilled out.. and that's fine.

I just don't get why they're trying the electronica thing. It's very basic electronica but I'm guessing they think it's progressive and new. It probably would've been in the mid 90's but it's almost like they discovered loads of electronic toys and effects 10 years too late..

itsevobaby

Well, I like it. Moreso with every listen in fact. having said that, I can completely understand why others dislike them so.

I appreciate that they're not comfortable producing an 'easy' listen. I enjoy the abrassiveness of it after the relatively smooth sounding AWITC. Silent Alarm is near perfect & don't think they need to dwell any further on that album.

As for the electronica influence, I don't think they're trying to find a new musical plateau or anything. I think they're just exploring different ways to texture their songs, but sometimes that process is distracting them from the basic essence of them.

I don't think using two different producers really helped the consistency of the album either.

All in all, an interesting album for my ears

stu gee

Ive said this many times, and people may laugh, but SA is one of my all time favourites, love everything about it. The second album had some ok tracks, but after hearing Mercury i lost all interest. I should give the whole album ago but im frightened it will put me off them completely as that song is utter nonsense.