The iconic indie-rock band took to Rough Trade on Monday night to announce their latest album, Anatomy of a Brief Romance.
Twenty-one years ago, the English rock band released Silent Alarm, a genre-defining classic. The energetic, tight singles of ‘Banquet’ and ‘This Modern Love’ have stayed staples of my playlist since I discovered the greats of 2000s indie. Not having yet listened to their new album, I was excited to see whether the band could reach those old heights. Sadly, the restrained nature of their new album lacked the texture that once catalysed the band to the top of the UK charts.
The crowd skewed heavily towards 50-year-old white blokes, who likely saw the release of their first album. The room was annoyingly packed. The staff had to leave the door open as the crowd spilt out, which sadly let a lot of light in and a lot of sound out.
The band opened the gig with the first three tracks from their new record, ’22.01.22’, ‘Coming on Strong’ and ‘Love Bombs’. The first two felt slightly forgettable, it feeling as if something is missing within the performance. I did like ‘Love Bombs’ more, as the rhythmic production better matched Kele Okereke’s moany vocals.
There were some flickers of promise, with ‘Clark Kent’ particularly strong with the guitar and production. However, similar to most of the songs, it felt as though it lost the energy of their previous records.
Kele told the Bristol crowd that this “was one of his favourite cities to perform in.” Despite his attempts to amp up the crowd, there was not a lot of movement all night. The crowd seemed as if they were, as I admittedly was, waiting for their favourite songs from their previous records. There was a particularly awkward moment where the introduction to their song ‘Lagoon Blue’ was mistaken for ‘Banquet.’ After the Kele’s first line, a couple of disappointed sighs could be heard.
The band did, however, provide the crowd with the frantic classic of ‘Ratchet,’ which burst the 50-year-old statues into dance – a sharp and noticeable shift in energy. Ultimately, despite it being great to see a favourite of mine, this ending underlined the exact lack of urgency in their new material.
Overall, it was a fun night at Rough Trade. However, I cannot avoid the fact that I was slightly disappointed with Bloc Party’s new album. Whilst it was going to be difficult to reach the highs of their cult-classic Silent Alarm, the album did sadly sound like a desperate attempt to rejoin the indie scene. The forgettable album missed the smartness and unpredictability that elevated them to a cult favourite in the first place.
Max Adams
