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Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City

Reviewed by Andreas on 7th February 2007

Reinvention is an idea that I'm sure must have appeared in most musicians' heads. The difficulty of bringing something new to, well, any genre including guitars and drums is well documented on all those shit second albums you've got stashed away at the back of the cupboard. It's quite likely that Bloc Party thought about reinvention before committing "Weekend in the City" to tape and putting the thing on the shelves. At times they succeed too.

"East London is a VAMPIRE!!!" hollers Kele Okereke near the end of "Disappear Here (Song for Clay)" which opens the album. There's no need to guess what the album's about, revolving around the alienation and the "down-troddenness" the average city dweller feels, along with some political commentary and love songs thrown into the mix. "Waiting for the 7.18" mourns lost childhoods and all the things you ever wanted to be, whilst "Uniform" is rebellious teenagers kicking a punky guitar riff about. "Hunting For Witches" is Bloc Party as we already know them, with a steady beat and the accompanying complexities, and completes a very strong opening segment.

The best moment in this humble reviewer's opinion comes first single (in the UK, at least) "The Prayer" kicks in. Displaying a darker side of Bloc Party it starts off with bombastic drumming and a low hum, whilst the chorus is a joyous, nay, victorious(!) riot of melody and non-standard drumming. The lyrics centre around wanting to rise about what you're given, and stop living for the weekend. This is songwriting of a finer caliber than most artists, placing Bloc Party about a mile above their peers.

As with most albums there are some low points too. At first listen the second half of the album slides by nearly unnoticed, occasionally popping up with a moment not unlike U2. Compared to songs like "The Prayer" and "Uniform", songs like "On" and "Sunday" don't stick in your ear until the tenth listen and even after then "I still remember" makes for a bit of a letdown. What the band so brilliantly started on "Weekend..." isn't there when the album closes, instead approaching a quite typical pattern.

"Weekend in the City" balances on the line between progression and the contrived. Parts of the album might make you cringe, whilst other parts offer observations that pinpoint elements of everyday life so well it's almost scary. The band have taken the challenge of the sophomore album well, refusing to use their debut as a blueprint, yet maintaining some of the things that made them one of those bands you see on tv. Aside from a few moments of embarrassment, "Weekend in the City" is a great statement of promise, displaying songwriting talent that should give birth to a long line of good albums. It's not as instantly accessible as the band's debut, but is an album that will hold up over time.

Rating: 7/10
Website: www.blocparty.com
Buy It Now: amazon.co.uk

Helen says:-

Ace review, really in-depth. I never liked Bloc Party much, and am a little tempted to check out the single you mention. Second albums are always hard - overcoming that whole "one trick pony" thing.

Although your front page teaser is a harsh welcome home after a twelve-hour day in Westminster (not including the 45 min commute each way in the driving cold) I have to admit. Probably true though. Have been looking for months, no damn cockney barrow boys anywhere.

7th February 2007 @ 23:35:06 GMT

Ben says:-

Yeah I agree with your statements about the new Bloc Party album; at times I find it insipid and at other times quite entertaining; though they never claim and no one expected it to be as magnanimous as "Silent Alarm", I think secretly a few of us were hoping it would be.

Keep up the work as always Andreas - always a pleasure to read your shiznit here in NZ.

14th February 2007 @ 00:22:32 GMT

Zenchan Electric Mainline says:-

I can't remember who recently said in an interview that Bloc Party were "alright musically, but the singer has all the emotion of a guy whose budgie has just died", but if I ever meet them I'll buy them a pint.

Absolutely dire stuff.

1st April 2007 @ 22:46:01 GMT