Bloc Party "A Weekend in the City" 2007***

I remember listening to Bloc Party's debut Silent Alarm when at first it came out (2005?). At the time I found its combination of post-punk and subtle beats to suit my taste, but it was too similar to other bands of the period which I happened to like better: The Killers, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand etc. Nothing stood out enough for me to warrant repeated listening since my house is choke-full of CD's old and new. I recently got their 2nd album as part of a batch of cheap used CD's from the 90's and 00's. First listen on the car stereo prompted a similar response: pleasant listening while driving but sort of bland compositions and pleasant but nondescript vocals merging the urgency and angst of Joy Division with electronic beats. Some occasional guitar outbreaks bring it close to Muse territory - which is not a bad thing, per se. When I decided to research its making and to listen more attentively for the sake of this blog, I got more hip to the nuances. Interestingly, I had forgotten that Bloc Party's singer was a black guy. Of course what else could he be with a name like Kele Okereke, but I had forgotten it because he doesn't sound particularly black to me. In a world where white singers go to ridiculous lengths to sound black, he doesn't seem to give a damn, just singing the way it comes to him. Not that he shies away from racial matters: e.g. "Where Is Home?" centers on racial violence and the demonization of black and immigrant youths by the media. The subject matter in general is surprisingly heavy for a mainstream album: the mundanity of big city life, alienation, clubbing, drugs, sexuality and entertainment culture, mass media, and -in the case of my favorite here "Hunting for Witches"- the post-9/11 regime of fear and control. It's one of the rockier tracks, with bouncy rhythms, catchy riffs and prominent guitars. Lead single "The Prayer" is more of a departure, featuring more electronic elements and layers of hummed backing vocals. In general, there is a tendency to experiment with instrumentation and song textures - a bit like a half-hearted Kid A, but only intermittently successful: "Where Is Home?", "Song for Clay" and "Uniform" fall into the trap of adding disparate elements in the spirit of experimentation, ending up sacrificing the hooks without sounding especially bold. "On", "Kreuzberg" and "SRXT" are atmospheric and rather subdued, while "Waiting for the 7.18", "Sunday" and 3rd single "I Still Remember" have a more commercial, Coldplay-like, quality. Techno/dance single "Flux" was not originally part of the package but is included in later reissues such as mine. It  sounds a bit out of place here IMO but then I'm not one to complain for free bonus material, am I?

**** for Hunting for Witches, The Prayer, Uniform, I Still Remember

*** for Song for Clay (Disappear Here), Waiting for the 7.18, On, Kreuzberg, Flux, Sunday

** for Where Is Home?, SRXT