Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City

by Jon Fletcher

Same musical depth and greater honesty shapes album number two

"For the most part he seems to be rather despairing of the young. Presumably these sooothsayers aren't holding up Bloc Party as spokesmen for the elderly, unable to vocalise their grumbles about loss of respect and common values through their own worn dentures?"

Let's make one thing clear. 'A Weekend In The City' is not another 'Silent Alarm'. Whether or not Bloc Party have, as they claim, grown up since their debut is a moot point. Whatever the reasons, their follow up is less obtuse and more politicised than its predecessor and, for existing fans, this can be a difficult pill to swallow. Some of the greatness of 'Silent Alarm' came from its mystery, the lyrics a confusing mish mash of mumbled metaphor and shouted slogans that hinted at much but gave away little. In contrast, on 'A Weekend In The City' singer Kele Okereke charges headlong into issues with a capital 'I', wrestling with everything from racism to terrorism.

Beneath all of this though, Bloc Party are still very much the same band. The textured guitar work of Okereke and Russell Lissack continues to underpin the songs. At one moment - as on the churning intro to opening track 'Song For Clay (Disappear Here)' - they charge through powerful, bass-heavy riffs. At another the soft arpeggios echo with sadness and introspection - as on 'Kreuzberg' - one of the tracks that comes closest to dealing with Okereke's reported homosexuality. Even here though, on such a personal subject matter, his lyrics have a wider resonance as he repeats the cascading closing lines with their tick tock rhythm: "After sex / The bitter taste / Been fooled again / The search continues".

Drummer Matt Tong also plays a crucial role, knocking out the cartwheeling rhythms that so distinguish and shape Bloc Party's sound. This is most noticable on 'Hunting For Witches', a track that echoes the atmosphere of distrust following the terrorist attacks on the US and London ("Kill your middle class indecision / Now is not the time for liberal thoughts"), the lyrics strung over a beat that owes more to dance than it does to rock. Tong's input may also be responsible for the glut of Bloc Party remixes that followed their debut - rest assured more are sure to follow this time around.

The least palatable track by some distance is 'Where Is Home?'. Okereke may be rightly, if somewhat belligerently, highlighting Britain's in-built racism towards immigrant families with lines like "Second generation blues or points of view not listened to", but the off-key chant of much of the song overwhelmes his message.

This is, however, a small blip on what is otherwise a thoughtful and musically varied album. The grit provided by the rising riffage of songs like 'Uniform' is matched by their often ascerbicly cutting observations on modern culture: "We're finding it hard to break the mould / We have nothing at all to say".

Whether or not Okereke is, as he has been billed elsewhere, the 'voice of a generation', is unclear - for the most part he seems to be rather despairing of the young. Presumably these sooothsayers aren't holding up Bloc Party as spokesmen for the elderly, unable to vocalise their grumbles about loss of respect and common values through their own worn dentures? What is certainly true is that 'A Weekend In The City' is both an emotive and varied album and a telling commentary on modern Britain. He may be slated for his cynicism, but at least the Bloc Party front man is saying something.

Scored against 'Silent Alarm', 'A Weekend In The City' does not quite make the mark, but were the bar of our expectations not raised so ludicrously high, this would still be an outstanding album in its own right, and deserves to be judged as such.

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