Bloc Party - 'Talons'
Much has been made of Bloc Party's changes to their sound over their three albums. 'The Prayer' was supposed to be them going pop, then 'Flux' was supposed to be them going dance, then 'Mercury' was supposedly them just going mad. Synthesisers! In indie! THE WORLD MIGHT AS WELL END NOW, HISTORY IS AT A JUNCTION!
This apparently devilishly confusing stylistic mobility has left many a reviewer standing confused by the appearance of this second single from 'Intimacy'*. The NME itself, bastion of indie knowledge (hem hem) could only manage to say that and further afield reviews range from the "urgh it's got a dance beat I hate it what are they doing go back to being proper indie" to dribbling admiration for the 'Party's second reinvention.
Let's be briefly controversial here and just point something out. This is 'Like Eating Glass,' the first song on 'Silent Alarm,' Blow Party's first album:
You may notice it has a dance rhythm and skips gleefully around with its stylistics. This is what - everyone - made Bloc Party famous. What made us all like them and sit around having slightly emo moments to 'Banquet.' But what is that you say? They have changed their style completely? OH NOES!
I don't know if you're prepared for this but here, readers, is 'Talons:'
OH MY GOD IT SOUNDS LIKE ...the first album. You know, the really good one. Only more than the first album, since it's more in control of itself, darker, fuller. The atmospheric video helps, of course but Kele's voice and the mesh of sounds from the instrumentalists have always worked well to created these claustrophobic pop songs, shaking and juddering right by your ears.
This song is, in fact, one of the more exciting Bloc Party-related things I've heard for several years, the Burial remix of 'Where Is Home?' aside. Truly in keeping with the album name, this song does feel extremely intimate, almost pornographically so as it breathes down your neck and howls; the feeling of closeness so appropriate to the album never abates and that beat only serves to bring it ever nearer, catchier, lingering with you afterwards.
Which is, y'know, GOOD.
Download: Out now
CD Released: October 20th
(Hazel Robinson)
*Not least myself, since I was sitting in front of my computer quite happily listening to my copy of 'Intimacy,' thinking "and the song will be on in a minute, awesome" before realising that this is a special track only available on the physical release wot's in shops and that, not on the advance version. Stealing ideas off McFly, there.
Comment number 1.
At 21st Oct 2008, TheGreatMrHahn wrote:I really wanted that link to be a video of Mogwai covering N-Trance...really dissapointed when it wasn't.
The moral of the story: read the review before just looking at the links
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 21st Oct 2008, igorah wrote:pretty
i likeee :)
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)