Bloc Party
Silent Alarm
Atlantic Records / 2005


Like Interpol and the Arcade Fire before them, Bloc Party rides on a wave of hype barreling through our college stations and trendster rock ‘zines. After some success in the U.K., Bloc Party have recently released their debut Silent Alarm here in the States to primed audiences. With the way this album unfolds, those audiences are now frenzied.

The disc opens with a pulsating guitar on “Like Eating Glass,” giving the listener some pause before an eventual onrush of thumping drums and vocal urgency. As the tracks wear on, you get the idea that there isn’t much chance of not paying attention to the rock Bloc Party dishes out. Whether it’s a continuous guitar note, bass drum kicks, or a throbbing bass line, these songs will make you dance. Particular standouts like “Helicopter” and “Luno” give evidence that Bloc Party must put on one heck of a live show. Other than a few slow numbers
like “Blue Light,” which was probably thrown in to break up tempo or just to give the singer a breath, Silent Alarm will thrash you about front to back.

The main gripe that I had, and you might too after a few listens, is that Kele Okereke’s vocals sound like Robert Smith at his most pained… all the time. If you can get past this (and the instrumentation  will certainly help distract you), then this album is a lot of fun to  listen to. See if you can catch these guys at the Paradise on April 5th.

-- Evan Mauser, 3/26/05