REMOVEloc Party is back with its first new album in six years, and that has nothing to do with “indie slaze” revival.
Sure, the hipster culture of the mid-to-late years — in which bands like Bloc Party, Girl Talk, and Franz Ferdinand saturated every teen’s iPod every year — is said to have made a comeback and fueled to push “change in vibe. ” But Game Alpha, arriving on Friday, is not a cheap nostalgia bait. The Bloc Party all grew up here, with a new, reborn lineup of veteran indie rockers ripping through social anarchy as they try to find their footing in 2022.
That newfound vitality, appropriately enough, stems from Silent alarm the show celebrates the band playing in 2018 and 2019. Enliven by fully performing their historic 2005 debut album, they’re “in a really good place as a band” and By the end of the tour, they had sketched out about 30 ideas for new songs, frontman Kele Okereke recently told The Daily Beast. But when the pandemic hit, they were left “sitting in our hands.”
“My fear is knowing how my mind works, the kind of sitting with music for a year… I just wanted to start changing things, because it wouldn’t feel representative of what I was doing. my position in that moment,” Okereke said. “I had to really defend myself against that instinct, because we were all very happy with how things were going at the end of 2019. In my mind, it was paramount that we caught up. got the energy we had then, and didn’t tweak things too much. so it starts to look different. “
Part of that was wanting to celebrate new and different views within the bloc itself—Game Alpha marks the first album that Okereke and founding member Russell Lissack have made with new bassist Justin Harris and drummer Louise Bartle, who first joined them on tour a few years ago. When asked if he still has contact with Bloc Party’s original drummer, Matt Tong, who left the band after its release. Four in 2013, or bassist Gordon Moakes, who followed two years later, Okereke was pragmatic.
“No. I mean, for me, ‘Once the door closes, it closes,'” he said. “I think I contacted Matt a while ago when he got married, but I think that while there’s no bad blood on my part, I don’t really want either of them in my life. myself right now. That may change, but it may not. Having been doing this job for almost 20 years now, I understand that with this pace of life that you have as a professional musician, you are constantly traveling, going on tour, nothing is better. People can come into your life and they can go, and I’m not upset about it. I’m always grateful for the lessons I was taught after relationships ended, because it doesn’t help if you don’t reflect on what just happened.”
It’s a fitting distinction for the new album, which all revolves around dissecting strained relationships in an overly angry framework. After Bloc Party’s fifth album, 2016 chantfailed to win over fans with meditative and spiritual themes, Game Alpha hit like a punch to the face. From the frenetic opening track “Day Drinker,” there’s an air of uneasiness that can be felt throughout the rest of the album’s story of rivalry, manipulation, and fury.
“For me, it’s like a pretty dark record, a pretty ugly record in many places. Not so much about the music, but just about what’s going on, about the characters, the textures and the story. It all seems like everyone has an end,” said Okereke.
“And to be honest, it’s one of the hardest things to have to do with rest. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, even though we didn’t record the songs, I still thought about them. They still live with me, and I’m still in that space, and it’s a pretty dark space, I have to say,” he continued. “So I’m grateful that we actually recorded the album, and it flopped, and it could make me leave, and I don’t have to think about these things because I think it makes me who I am. colder in some ways, making this record.”
“To me, it’s like a pretty dark record, a pretty ugly record in many places. … It all seemed like everyone was fucking everyone.”
Okereke oozes bitterness and honey for most of the album; he can mock and mock, like in the venomous punk cut “Callum is a snake” where he washes someone’s hands by hissing with blatant indignation, “You’re a snake.” damn it.”
“I think saying those things out loud… they’re not just words. You have to go there,” Okereke said. “I guess everyone’s process is different, but for me, I had to go there and put myself in those situations and think about how I would react. ‘Callum Is a Snake’ is one of those stories that everyone knows — everyone has someone like that in their life that they have around, but they don’t really want to be around anymore. It’s fun to put someone in the blast that way. By the way, Callum is not a real name. ”
The cruel analogy is “Rude Justice”, which is Not a Rolling Stones cover but instead a character study of “the rich in society with an evil side,” as Okereke put it. “I’ve always found the idea of crime lurking beneath the surface to be a pretty compelling one,” he said, citing Bret Easton Ellis’ satirical thriller. Glamorama as an inspiration. However, it is almost impossible not to draw parallels between these songs about social hierarchy and manipulative power figures, and the dire state of global politics, which Okereke admits made him more disillusioned than ever.
“I don’t know if it’s getting old, like turning 40, but I actually feel a lot more skeptical about people, about humanity,” he said. “I think we’ve had some really miserable years in the world, we’ve had some pretty terrible things happen in a row and I’m not very confident about where we’re going as a single person. human. Look what is happening with Russia and Ukraine. One person’s pride and ego is creating so much chaos, destruction and hurt for so many others.”
It’s not a groundbreaking stance for a history of freedom a musician like him, but it’s a stance nonetheless, more than he can say for some of his industry colleagues who have led him to question the perceived responsibility of an artist and a public figure.
“I guess there are two types of artists right now. There are people who need a distraction from what’s happening right now in the world, and I understand that to an extent. I get it, that people don’t want to be reminded of terrible things that are happening,” he said. “But there are also artists who feel that now is more than ever to comment on what is happening, because it is just too scary. And I know that as artists, we have a voice and a platform, and an opportunity to turn our anxiety into art that helps people. I mean, I don’t know, I think that’s always been the way I’ve looked at it, given the obligation you have as a musician, as an artist, as a singer, as a musician, you have to talk about the world you see around you. Or what is the other problem? “
“The task that you have as a musician, an artist, a singer, a musician, is that you have to talk about the world you see around you. Or what is the other point?”
For all its bitter, jagged energy and toxic stories, Game Alpha still manages to find fleeting pockets of tenderness. “Of Things Yet to Come” is an eccentric, longing piece, while the standout track “If We Get Caught,” an earnest, fervent song about love that goes or dies, instantly. became a fan favorite when it was released early last month. Even closer album “The Peace Giving” begins as a mellow-sounding resignation, with verses about letting go of grudges and putting aside malice. It wasn’t long before, however, before the track exploded into an angry rumble as Okereke repeatedly lamented, “next time, do the right thing”, ending the album on a cold and chaotic note.
“It feels like this very cold sublimation of… The anger you’ve heard throughout the album has now been replaced by something a little more painful, it’s just cold indifference, “Okereke said. “Look at someone you used to be close to, and now they’re nothing. Now there is no fire and anger, just cold indifference. I think it’s one of the Bloc Party songs that I’m most proud of.”
If that’s true, then it’s testament to Okereke’s belief that the band’s best years may still be ahead of them — it’s music that will reach the ears of fans who’ve already heard it. Bloc Party aside after they failed to maintain the same momentum as they did in the beginning ‘ Album of the 00s Silent alarm, A weekend in the city.and Intimate. Biggest lesson from Game Alpha perhaps the Bloc Party, now 20 years old as a band, still has the power to shock and excite.
“I always hear things on the resume after they’re done that I want to do differently,” says Okereke. “But I think it’s part of the process, and I think that’s why I’m so prolific, I guess, for the time that I’ve had, it’s been a bit of a stretch for me to want to get away from what I’ve done. motivational part to start something new. It’s always like that. ”
