An instant classic on release and still sounding as vital and emotionally resonant as it did back in 2005, Bloc Party’s mammoth debut record Silent Alarm will be revisited in full at hotly anticipated shows in Auckland and Wellington in late 2018.
As tickets to the European and Australian leg of the tour were snapped up with frenzied excitement, New Zealand will be given a rare opportunity to experience an album recently described by Complex Magazine as “a long-overdue reminder of how urgent and exciting rock could be” and by the NME as “one of the best albums of all time”.
Back in 2004, Bloc Party were four Londoners emerging into a post-Strokes world buzzing with a newly discovered love of angular guitars. Lead by the compelling, impassioned yelp of Kele Okereke and his stunning descriptions of love, helplessness and life in the early aughts, they drove centimetre perfect incisions into the bedrock of indie song-craft.
Fans and critics began to hop on board as Silent Alarm’s first single, a double A-side featuring ‘So Here We Are’ and ‘Positive Tension’ (with it’s clarion call of “so fucking useless”), made a huge impact in their native UK, paving the way for a release in February 2005.
The record was an immediate hit as it burned up the English and American album charts, inspiring breathless reviews wherever it was heard. Singles ‘Banquet’, ‘Helicopter’ and the aforementioned ‘Positive Tension’ put Bloc Party’s technicolour ambitions on dazzling display.
Ageing as well as anything released in the past 20 years (if not better), the jagged rhythms and disparate electronic elements of Silent Alarm sound as crucial today as they did 13 years ago. Soundtracking everything from all night raves to desolate breakups, the record has earned a special place in the hearts of its fans.
More than your ordinary garage band, Bloc Party have left a legacy of scope, vision and incendiary pop songs for their fans to pour over in the 13 years since Silent Alarm was released.
The chance for New Zealand audiences to revisit these classics with the band as they perform the album in full will be too good to pass up.
Bloc Party are Kele Okereke (vocals, guitar), Russell Lissack (guitar), Justin Harris (bass) and Louise Bartle (drums).
