Bloc Party emerged as a one-of-many, though stood out from the pack by being a less slick, less sculpted version of what was to become a very short-lived contemporary indie homage to its heritage.
Like all good bands, Bloc Party survived their trial by fire by harnessing the fire themselves – by evolving. A Weekend In The City is to Silent Alarm what Silent Alarm was to bands like The Killers: one step ahead.
Still sounding very much like Bloc Party, though not at all sounding like Bloc Party Mark 2; A Weekend In The City build’s upon the band’s pronounced sound, but leaves behind that which pronounced it… meaning they sidestepped their own signature moves in favour of delving deeper into where said trickery came from.
The ideas are explained better here… they have more depth and meaning.
While the band has seldom been ‘catchy’, their songs have been memorable nonetheless, and this album takes such a phenomenon one step further. A lure without hooks, if you will.
It twinkles and entices its prey, beckoning it to sink its teeth in, but does so without a capturing snare. So seductive is this lure, though, that hooks are almost unessential in landing the fish… it simply swims right into the boat.
Less metaphorically speaking, it is the sound and atmosphere of Bloc Party (this record eve more so than Silent Alarm) that captivates the listener.
It makes you feel good – just like hooks do – but in a way that leaves you needing to hear it all again… A hook is something you can take away from a record and replay over and over in your own mind, but an atmosphere – a feeling – can only be attained by returning to the source.
As such, A Weekend In The City is the kind of record that feeds the adult in its listener, rather than its child, which is every bit as satisfying when it is executed well… and here it is executed perfectly.
Posted on January 24, 2007 03:15 PM Thanks for signing in, Now you can comment.
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