Album Review: Bloc Party - Intimacy

Originally published in Soundcheck Magazine (9/09/08)

Someone in Bloc Party must have made a mistake when issuing the names of their last two albums. Intimacy should have been the name of their 2007 sophomore effort, a lyrically driven, dark and moody album. That release, instead, was called A Weekend in the City, which is far more a fitting title for the gunshot nervous energy found here.

Intimacy is simply alive. It’s a caged animal, a speeding freight train that hustles along relentlessly, sometimes without thinking things through first. It’s very much like the band’s debut (Silent Alarm) in many ways, not the least of which is the return of Matt Tong’s assault rifle drumming.

The long and short of it is that this album beats A Weekend in the City firmly into the ground. Weekend was a definite leap forward lyrically for Kele Okereke, who was channeling some personal and emotional hurdles in his life at the time. However, the musicians around him seemed to be taking a vacation, as Bloc Party failed to give those songs the melodies they deserved.

Intimacy sees the band embrace electronica front and center, especially on songs like “Biko” and “Signs”, and for a band that’s trying on this style for the first time seriously (they dabbled with electronic elements on Weekend, but not as unabashedly as here), it fits them well. But Bloc Party hasn’t forgotten their rock roots, either.

Consider the opening two tracks, which may be the most pulverizing two-song opening combo in recent memory. First there’s “Ares”, which is hell-bent on being hell-bent: it flirts precariously with becoming muddled, but manages to barely avoid this pitfall. Following is “Mercury”, which is cinematic in its scope. The orchestral punches are even Matrix-esque in the way they seem to be independently choreographing some sonic fight scene.

Intimacy turns out to be a very reckless album. But after its predecessor, these risks are extremely refreshing. Okereke seems to have gotten over whatever demons possessed him in the past, because he’s traded in the heady subject matter for head banging beats. It’s impossible to ignore this album, and that tenaciousness turns out to be its best quality.

-Andy Pareti