Initially, listening to Bloc Party’s new album, “Four,” is much “like drinking poison, like eating glass.” It pains you. Then, all of a sudden, after a three-year hiatus, the depth of the album enriches and pervades any former admirer’s mind. Therefore it is safe to say, as of August 20, Bloc Party is once again worthy of critical acclaim.
The album starts with “He Begins to Lie.” From the beginning, Kele Okereke (lead singer) acknowledges the anticipation that accrued while they were gone, shouting, “The camera is watching/He takes a breath.” The distorted tones take you through waves of robust rhythm and astute lyrics that will remind many of their former glory. This excellence continues to “3×3,” where the theme is the shadowy pain experienced in relationships and behaviors. The following song, “Octopus,” is filled with an echoing guitar rhythm that conveys the talent of guitarist Russel Lissack. Tastefully, at the end of “Octopus,” we are delighted by a psychedelic guitar riff that attempts to submerse the listener in a whirlpool of the unresolved.
With the next song, “Real Talk,” the tone mellows and the lyrics deepen with couplets like, “I’ve lived in every town/But here is where I find home.” As if that weren’t enough, the next song, “Kettling,” takes on a riot provoking tone with a grungy guitar and bass. The lyrics do not disappoint. Kele shouts, “We drop the lighter into the gas/If the whole world is watching us/Let them watch.” Fearlessly, Russel Lissack breaks into a solo near the end, creating quite the distorted pleasure.
In a moment’s notice the tone changes to the tranquility of the song “Day Four.” The depth of the lyrics and overall tone of this song is heavily influenced by their album “A Weekend in the City.”
This transitions to “Coliseum,” which starts out with a gritty country guitar that seems out of place. However, even with this hindrance, the song progresses to a foot-stomping, punk rock rhythm that ends up being an anthem against the establishment that questions our very practices with lines like, “We’re moving backwards/History repeating itself.” Songs such as “Truth” will evoke memories of “Silent Alarm” and “Weekend in the City,” the band’s most critically-acclaimed albums.
Overall, the album varies in pace and is filled to the brim with experimentation. The excellence of this album is exemplified within the lyrics, though Matt Tong, the band’s drummer, compliments the guitar riffs of Russel Lissack and the abrasive bass lines of Gordon Moakes with his one of a kind subtlety.
Due to the album’s complexities and depth, I highly recommend it for those who are fascinated by experimentation and enjoy the taste of “Silent Alarm.” For those who enjoy the trivial tones of Foster the People and Owl City and are insecure when music begins to ask something of them, this album is not for them.