Bloc Party - Intimacy

Bloc Party's third album Intimacy was plunged upon the world, in blitzkrieg fashion, as a digital release last August, a whole 2 months before the physical edition was available to buy. The band later revealed that they decided to rush-release the album due to the fact that they had, in the past, grown tired of material by the time the album tours commenced. This reluctance to sit on finished material resulted in the surprise appearance of Intimacy on 21 August. The expected industry buzz failed to materialise and it was not until the full CD release in October that reviews etc began to appear in all the familiar places. The band expressed excitement at the prospect of being able to tour with the new album so soon after it's completion. An unusual, but interesting way, to go about an album release.

Intimacy continues along familiar lines to their previous outputs with electronic influences and tales of modern life. Produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul 'Phones' Epworth, it succeeds to an extent in fulfilling Kele Okereke's ambition to combine the 'rawness' of Silent Alarm with the 'experience' of A Weekend In The City. Album openers 'Ares' and 'Mercury' snatch the listener's attention, with their soaring drum patterns and Kele's trademark vocals. Matt Tong has to be commended for yet-another energetic performance on drums: he surely is one of the finest stick men of the past number of years. Other points of merit on a characteristic, satisfying album include the subtle tones of 'Ion Square' and the head noddingly-good riffs bursting out on 'Trojan Horse' and 'One Month Off'. The softer moments in 'Signs' prove than Bloc Party are still capable of producing emotive tracks along the lines of 'This Modern Love'.

With such a quick turnaround between album release and tour it will be telling to see how the live show has transferred from the studio to the live setting. At this stage the enthusiasm for the material should not have wained so it has the makings of a show to remember. We were quietly surprised by how much we enjoyed their biggest headline show, to that point, in Pheonix Park last November. With many quality tracks in their back catalogue and some gems in the latest effort, I can feel a growing excitment in the lead up to this one.

Bloc Party play Horden Pavilion, Sydney on the 25th & 26th of November. Tickets for both shows are sold out.

The CD version of the album contains additional tracks to the digital release. 'Talons', not included on the digital release, has subsequently been released as a single.

Bloc Party - 'Talons'

http://www.blocparty.com/