Bloc Party resemble Gang of Four both in their sound and in the fact that a brilliant first album was followed up by two albums of meandering crap. Granted, Gang of Four's meandering crap wasn't nearly as bad as Bloc Party's would end up being, but the point still stands. But luckily this album is before the rot set in, and it's still as great as I thought it was five years ago--super-energetic guitar rock in the vein of 80s U2 (but with a funkier low end), masterfully written and played. It's one of those albums where every song is a potential single, which is all the more impressive because of its variety--there's catchy singles ("Banquet"; "Pioneers") funky dance tracks ("Positive Tension"; "She's Hearing Voices") tearjerkers ("Blue Light"; "This Modern Love") and creepy, Joy Division-y stuff ("Luno"; "Compliments"). It's such a near-masterpiece of 00s guitar rock that in retrospect it seems like the band was blowing its load here; everything since has been awful. It's just fantastic guitar pop, in the old style--setting sad words to pretty music. If the album has a problem it might be that it's entirely too serious and poker-faced--there is not a hint of humor or irony on this thing, and every single track is attempting to be a GLORIOUS NEW ANTHEM for the YOUTH OF TODAY. It's a testament to the band's skills that they didn't fall on their face, and while they didn't exactly become the new Radiohead at least they made one great record, which is more than what most groups of this type can say (remember Maximo Park?)
MY RATING:
9.0
Bloc Party - "Positive Tension"
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