You'll Be The One Missing Out (Intimacy - Bloc Party)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Intimacy - Bloc Party
Date:	23/10/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A new direction and a very well made album

Disadvantages: -

Having met and formed the band in 1999 at Reading Festival it's fair to say that Bloc Party have come a long way in the last 10 years. Last year saw the band release their third studio album Intimacy with the hope that it would continue the success they were already enjoying. The band had secured themselves a place amongst the leading British acts with the previous 2 albums and this album seemed like a slight change of direction and trying something a little different, whilst not alienating the fans they'd already gained.

The album itself came about in a rather strange way. When the first single "Mercury" was released in August there wasn't any release details for a future album. A few days later however the band unveiled details of a completed album and 10 tracks were made available within 60 hours as a special edition download from the bands website. Following that the album itself hit the shops some 2 months later in a slightly longer form to the pre-release version on the website.

This album sees the band taking a slightly different direction and while there are still signs of their Indie Rock routes the album has a very different feel. Musically the direction has taken a drastic change to a more electronic and dance route than the previous albums. There are certainly influences from the likes of Prodigy and Chemical Brothers to be heard throughout the album. It was recorded in a studio in Kent under the expert eyes of producers Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth who seem to help Bloc Party get the best possible sound out of their new direction.

Obviously there is still a lot of the traditional Bloc Party sound within the tracks with very sharp guitar riffs and a real sense of direction. The addition of synthesisers and different effects on tracks like "Biko" show the bands new direction and will sound slightly different to fans of the band. There is a good mixture of musical styles on the album and that ensure that the sound Bloc Party are becoming known for is still very much evident within all the tracks on the album. Of course there are some slight changes to that sound with the drums taking a more important role on certain tracks than on previous albums but it's still easy to tell within the opening bars that this is still Bloc Party doing what they do best.

It's lyrically probably the most mature album of the three from the band. There are some very personal lyrics in each of the tracks for lead singer and writer Kele Okereke as he has confirmed that the songs were inspired by the breakup of a relationship. That's not to say it's an album of touchy feely love song, far from it, he keeps his perceptive about the breakup and about the relationship in general and it leads to some very deep and heartfelt lyrics. This is also portrayed in his vocals as you can feel an extra spark that has perhaps been missing from the previous records as the lyrics he is bringing to life mean something to him.

While this is a slightly different approach for the band that sees them take on a more electronic approach than before it works. There are some really good tracks on this album that really stood out from the first listen. Of course the lead single "Mercury" was played almost nonstop on the radio before the album's release but there are even better tracks on the album such as "One Month Off", which was actually the third single to be taken from this album. It highlights the addictive beat that Bloc Party can create and mixes it perfectly with the incredible vocal talents of Kele.

When bands start to experiment with their sound it is often a worry but with Bloc Party it seems to be a natural progression. There previous albums had hinted towards this as a direction they could head down and with this third album they have done it very well. They were already establishing themselves as one of the biggest Indie bands in Britain prior to the release of this album but now I think it's fair to say they could be challenging the Prodigy for the biggest Dance act crown in the future.

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Summary: The Third album from Bloc Party