Bloc Party – Hymns
Remember last year when Bloc Party lost some of its original members, Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong? Well, according to lead singer Kele Okereke you can blame that on ‘someone doing cocaine and someone not being into it’. But it doesn’t seem as though the 4- piece band are losing out with the new, yet anticipated record ‘Hymns’.
With their last album, 2012’s ‘Four’ lacking a cool edge, the foursome had to step up a gear in the world of the indie sound. The band’s fifth LP opens with comeback track, a hybrid of indie disco- pop ‘The Love Within’, as catchy and unique as it is, it’s not the best opening song out there. Taking that into account, ‘Hymns’ escapes that harsh club vibe that at one time dominated Bloc Party’s sound for a more mysterious and meaningful range.
“The God vibration” that “pulls us up towards her” sets the theme through ‘The Love Within’ as a church symphony, taking a turn to the religious side. Kele spills all of his spiritual energy into the soulful yet soothing track ‘Fortress’ channelling an angel like choirboy completely dismembering the constant drum and electronic beat they used to project.
It’s hard to distinguish this as Bloc Party’s break-up album, with Okereke splitting himself between the Bible and the recent changes to the dynamics of the band. It is only the track, ‘Different Drugs’ that indirectly refers to the remorse of his ex-bandmates: “I’m tryna broach the distance that’s growing in our lives”, ultimately this is the best track on the album speaking directly from the centre of Kele’s heart.
Unlike any other album Bloc Party has created, this is the one where Okereke finds his mojo, his control while still ravelled in the electronic edge of his solo material. ‘Hymns’ has resurrected Bloc Party on a whole new wave length. Good stuff.
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Journalism student interested in digital and print based publishing. Fleetwood Mac and X-Files obsessed. Entertainment junky.
