review: Bloc Party- “Intimacy”

rating: 8/10

“Intimacy” is exactly that: intimate.

More a poetry recitation than a music album, Bloc Party delves deep, deep, deeper into its melancholic side with the band’s third album.

The album opens with “Ares,” a combination of electronica and Beastie Boys-esque beats.

“Mercury” comes next. It inherits the heavy drum line of “Ares,” and while it sounds like an extension of the first song, it reinforces a feel of experimental rock. So far, the album is the farthest thing from “This Modern Love.”

“Halo” has more of a punk-rock edge, and speeds up the CD. The forlorn sadness present at times in the band’s debut album, “Silent Alarm” has warped into an urgent, angry plea of “Paralyze me, with your kiss / wipe those dirty hands, on me / maybe we’re looking for the same thing / maybe you’re the one who will complete me.”

The band mixes mythology with sadness in “Biko.” If “Halo” was the party, then “Biko” is the coming down off its angry petition for affection. “Biko,” while in a completely different tone than the songs before it, reinforces the album’s smooth-flowing, expertly ordered track list. The songs aren’t all alike, but they make sense together.

“Trojan Horse” adds Kele Okereke’s heartbreaking vocals to the wrathful tone of “Halo.” The group has found an edgier sound, and the experimentation is complete in this track with the guitar solos and echoing background whispers. It’s evident this is still Bloc Party, but they’ve skillfully managed to preserve their identity while trying on a new sound.

The lyrics to “Signs” indicate the album isn’t just a spiteful, pop-punk album in indie rock disguise, but a track list with a story to tell. The song narrates death with, “At your funeral I was so upset, so upset / in your life you were larger than this / statuesque.”

“Zephyrus” is the low point of the album, but carries with it the promise of more mythological references. It sounds almost like an interlude. The guys have taken a break from their wrath and are chanting and mixing different rhythms to pass the time. It does, however, live up to the mythology of its namesake. The lyrics are regretful: “And your face is still wet from the fight before / as your tears hit the ground, blue flowers spring from them.” Perhaps this is a reference to the hyacinth flower erected by Apollo after Zephyrus killed his lover.

More interesting than getting another hit song is the story woven intricately throughout the album. The band uses mythology and religion to perk curiosities of its listeners. At the same time, the electronica-based tracks expand its musical repertoire in a way this listener wasn’t really expecting.

Check your expectations at the door.