Bloc Party is back. The British band whose debut album, Silent Alarm, was a sensation in 2006 released its new album Four this year after a lengthy hiatus. The group's latest departs from recent electronic forays and returns to the artful post-punk sound of Bloc Party's heyday.
The new album is raw, vibrant and aggressive. Singer Kele Okereke lends Four his typical ferocious intensity, accompanied by crunching guitar riffs. In this interview and live performance, Bloc Party explains how the Occupy movement in New York influenced the tone of Four, and Okereke discusses what it was like to come back to a group dynamic following the release of a solo album. (link)
Playlist
HOUR 1
Bryan Ferry “Kiss & Tell” Bete Noire
Antibalas “Dirty Money” Antibalas
U2 “Lemon” Zooropa
Foster The People “Don’t Stop” Torches
((Bloc party “Kettling” Recorded Live for the World Cafe))
Bloc party “Octopus” Recorded Live for the World Cafe
Bloc party “Kettling” Recorded Live for the World Cafe
Bloc party “Truth” Recorded Live for the World Cafe
((Bloc party “Octopus” Recorded Live for the World Cafe))
Andrew Bird “Three White Horses” Hands of Glory
Traffic “40,000 Headmen” Smiling Phases
The Lumineers “Stubborn Love” The Lumineers
Bat for Lashes “All Your Gold” The Haunted Man
Eels “In My Dreams” Hombre Lobo
HOUR 2
Bob Dylan “Summer Days” Love and Theft
Mumford & Sons “I Will Wait” Babel
Hothouse Flowers “I’m Sorry” People
Warren Zevon “Carmelita” Warren Zevon
Dawes “Fire Away” Nothing is Wrong
((Connor Oberst “I Got the Reason” Recorded Live for the World Cafe))
Patterson Hood “Leaving Time” Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance
Broken Bells “The High Road” Broken Bells
Kurt Vile “In My Time” Smoke Ring for my Halo
((Neil Young “Mr. Disappointment” Are You Passionate?))
Neil Young & Crazy Horse “Walk Like a Giant” Psychedelic Pill
Little Village “Take Another Look” Little Village
The Gaslight Anthem “Handwritten” Handwritten
Wilco “I Might” The Whole Love
Langhorne Slim “The Rebel Side of Heaven” Langhorne Slim
((Ian Hunter “When I’m President” Recorded Live for the World Cafe))