A wise man once told me, "Don't play the '80s keyboard."

Look at the facts -- Van Halen dabbled in some synth, and next thing you know, Sammy Hagar is the lead singer. A-ha cleaned house at the MTV Video Music Awards and then disappeared from the face of the earth. It's a very tempting but treacherous instrument.

Bloc Party is a bold yet wary band. The band's newest effort, Silent Alarm, clearly has some '80s influence to it.

But unlike The Killers and all those other '80s revivalists, Bloc Party is avoiding extinction by way of the '80s keyboard.

Also unlike The Killers, the band's album stays consistent from start to finish (and uses an authentic British accent).

Silent Alarm is influenced, but not imitating. It manages to pay tribute to 80's rock without being a rip-off.

Perhaps the best example of this is the band's single from the album "Banquet." The song has a number of nuances reminiscent of notably different '80s artists.

The vocals have an echoing effect comparable to early U2, while the guitars throughout the song maintain an angular, punked-up Pixies-esque style. Then, a bridge at the end of the song contains grungy rhythm guitars followed by some wailing distorted shredding. But despite all the comparisons the song can draw, it's got a new feeling to it. All the songs on the album seem to maintain this throwback style without being repetitive or boring.

So for all you new wave revivalists out there, take note from Bloc Party. Don't play the '80s keyboard. On Silent Alarm, they take the high road.

-- Reviewed by Kevin Doran