Intimacy

Bloc Party - Intimacy

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CD Details

Artist: Bloc Party
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-10-28
Music Label: Atlantic
Product features:

BLOC PARTY INTIMACY

Soundtracks:

Ares
Mercury
Halo
Biko
Trojan Horse
Signs
One Month Off
Zephyrus
Talons
Better Than Heaven
Ion Square
Letter To My Son
Your Visits Are Getting Shorter
Flux

Music reviews of Intimacy

Music Review: Solid effort
Rating: 4 Stars

After the release "A Weekend In The City," Bloc Party have followed it up with "Intimacy." Thankfully, this album recaptures some of the joy that was found on "Silent Alarm." The opener, "Ares" is rather off putting. The song begins promisingly enough with a very distorted guitar before divulging in a shouty cheerleader-esque rhythm. The song then breaks into a "Blue Light" melody before dissipating completely into an intro for "Mercury."

The single "Mercury" reminds me somewhat of a David Bowie impersonator trying his hand at jungle, which is fine, if you're into that sort of thing. To me it's kind of retro, a bit monotonous and it sounds like album filler/fluff. In retrospect, as much as I did not like "Mercury," it still sounds a bit more polished than the opener. The track, "Halo" cannot come soon enough. It's like a respite in a sea of mediocrity. All blustery guitars, this song marks the return to form that Bloc Party so desperately needs. Then comes "Biko", which I was half suspecting to be a Peter Gabriel cover. Thankfully, it's not; it is more of a Bloc Party ballad, although it really wouldn't be out of a place on a Peter Gabriel album. Consider this your robotic, "Blue Light" moment complete with staccato drum machine beats.

The album then picks up again with; "Trojan Horse" which sounds like it could have been a b-side from "Silent Alarm Remixed." This track features an acidic guitar solo, which definitely benefits the claustrophobic dance beats. The next song, "Signs" is another slower song and features a chiming melody, which proves to be juxtaposition of what you have heard previously. It illustrates a lyric of longing and builds appropriately prepping you for the angry beats of "One Month Off."

The closers on this album begin with the operatic "Zepherus." "Zepherus" is oddly out of place after "One Month Off". Kele sings like he is surrounded by a group of dance floor angels for unrequited love, and it really does not fit well with what preceded it. "Better Than Heaven" follows as a stronger track. The themes of longing and anger seem to be building to a suitable closing. This track also marks the return of much needed guitar to break up the dance beats that have dominated this album. "Ion Square" segues back to familiar territory and winds the album to a close with a melancholy keyboard based melody.

Overall, I applaud Bloc Party for attempting new sounds. I'm also grateful this album is not as maudlin as "A Weekend In The City." The band sounds reinvigorated, and out of the sophomore slump phase of their career. If I could give this album a grade, I'd say it would be a "B". Hopefully these songs translate well live, as that is where I would like to see them next.

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Description of Intimacy

Following a long run of summer festivals and sold out tour dates,
Bloc Party brings us their newest studio effort. Intimacy is a fittingly
up-close title for an album that is, immediately, in-your-face and
in-your-ear. Bloc Party's third album is a thrillingly radical record,
bristling with percussive innovation, scorching riffs, orchestral
sampledelia, and biting emotional candor.

Bloc Party fans have awaited the arrival of Intimacy, the band's third studio LP, with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Where their debut Silent Alarm (produced by Paul Epworth) was universally touted as a modern classic, 2007's follow up, A Weekend in the City, was patchier. Intimacy is helmed by both Lee and Epworth. Its brittle contours, mish-mash of influences, and semi-awkward lyrics are quintessential Bloc Party. Mixing up everything from micro-house and dub-step, to indie rock and electro pop, there's a willful energy here reminiscent of the band's debut (though the spikier elements are more reminiscent of of AWITC. Opening cut "Ares" sets out the band's stall with a bombastic brew of high-energy drums, preening guitars, and urgent sirens, while upbeat lead single "Mercury," employs a quirky astrological motif. These prove to be the most charged tracks on the record as elsewhere the band indulges in choral-chanting and strings ("Zephyrus"), angsty art-rock ("Halo") and a surprisingly uplifting finale in the shape of "Ion Square." Intimacy is predictably unpredictable: knowingly difficult, defiantly angular, yet eminently likeable.--Danny McKenna

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