Change -- that is, the instance of becoming different -- is an interesting concept. Depending on the circumstances, change can be revolutionary or an unwelcome disappointment.
I wouldn't go so far to call Bloc Party's new album, Intimacy, a disappointment, but it is far from revolutionary and, more times than naught, it's rather unwelcoming.
When the raw sounds of Bloc Party's debut Silent Alarm assaulted my ears three years ago, I (and many other music critics) was genuinely impressed by the band's post-punk energy that drenched every track. It could be heard best in the rough, abrasive guitar tones and in lead singer Kele Okereke's frantic vocals that featured just the right amount of angst and bravado.
When the band's follow-up, Weekend in the City, reared its head, it was something entirely different. The Party traded its fun, choppy sound for dark compositions that aimed to be epic but came off as melodramatic. The band began to experiment with electronic instrumentation but little did we -- the faithful Bloc Party enthusiasts, that is -- know the electronic influences would nearly dominate its next album.
"If it ain't broken, don't fix it" is an age-old adage that, from personal experience, is usually said in relation to whatever Microsoft OS has recently released, but it will do for Intimacy as well. There was nothing broken on Silent Alarm. If Weekend in the City was Okereke and the gang creating a blueprint of how to fix the non-existent problem on Silent Alarm then consider Intimacy to be a full-fledged demolition. And what's being erected in its place isn't too exciting.
With Intimacy, the emo-laden melodrama that not so subtly resided on each track on Weekend now has a partner in crime: electronic confusion. Most of these electro-crazed songs seem too eager to innovate, favoring baseless experimentation over earnest songwriting.
Everything sounds so synthesized which in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but the problem is these guys are still thinking "rock music" when it's clear they want to be the furthest thing from a rock band. Don't let the loud power chords on "One Month Off" or the jangly, distorted guitars on "Halo" or the punky "Trojan Horse" fool you.
I get it, bands like to change their style and most of the time, I'm enthused when a band takes a new direction. But, c'mon, let's put some more thought and effort into it. The band's apparent obsession with melodrama is taking its toll on the music and making it hard to accept their transition as more than a couple of kids playing in a sandbox with too many toys.
Take a listen to "Zepherus" which features a sweeping choir and vocal samples that make the song sound as if it belongs on the soundtrack for End of Days or Constantine. To top it off, Okereke gives us maybe the worst possible choice of words to squeeze into a melody line: "And all you said, in your quietest voice, was 'I needed you more than they do.' " That simple refrain could be a total encapsulation of what's wrong with this record: trying to pack too much into what should be a simple thing.
There are moments on this record when the whole thing makes sense and can be enjoyed (The shiny xylophone melodies on "Signs," for instance). But they'll be over before you even realize you're enjoying it.
Ultimately, this time around just isn't fun. No doubt it is listenable and technically admirable, but there isn't much soul to it. The lads from Bloc Party really need to take a step back and honestly evaluate their work. It's obvious there is some sort of roadblock preventing them from writing good songs again; maybe it's the exciting possibilities of electronic music inspiring them to try too much or their belief that rock music needs to be dark and continually building toward something even more dark and dramatic.
Whatever it is, they better find their epiphany before album No. 4. Only then can they bring about some revolutionary change.
GRADE: C+
