Spending the Weekend
Hot on the heels of lead singer and songwriter Kele Okereke's public statements about his sexuality, Bloc Party has released their sophomore album, A Weekend in the City.
So far, I've been quite impressed by the growth on display in this album, mostly through the honesty of Kele's lyrics, but also in terms of how the band's sound has developed since Silent Alarm. There are several moments which echo songs and sounds from the first album, but these sounds now find themselves cloudy and muted, like old memories changed through more recent experiences. Notable is the evolution of texture throughout the album; the first few tracks borrow heavily from the mood of Silent Alarm, so they feel like a logical progression from that album. There also exist some clunky lyrics early on (Come on, Kele--Billy Corgan already took the "___ is a vampire" line a decade ago), but taken in context, they provide an excellent foundation from which to grow and mature, which does happen later on.
The album explores the intersection of racism and media frenzy ("Hunting for Witches" and "Where Is Home?"), but finds more interesting creative ground in critique of the idle middle class ("Uniform"). Some of Kele's most developed ideas and writing, however, come in the form of the songs that make up a cycle covering seduction, discovery, exploration, and the eventual end of a gay relationship. These songs, "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)," "Waiting for the 7:18," "The Prayer," "On," and "Sunday," form the emotional center of the album, at least in my opinion. It's clear to me that he has become much more comfortable with the business of dealing with personal demons as an artist, and that makes A Weekend in the Country much stronger than its predecessor, whose themes were obfuscated and at times completely missing.
So far, I've been quite impressed by the growth on display in this album, mostly through the honesty of Kele's lyrics, but also in terms of how the band's sound has developed since Silent Alarm. There are several moments which echo songs and sounds from the first album, but these sounds now find themselves cloudy and muted, like old memories changed through more recent experiences. Notable is the evolution of texture throughout the album; the first few tracks borrow heavily from the mood of Silent Alarm, so they feel like a logical progression from that album. There also exist some clunky lyrics early on (Come on, Kele--Billy Corgan already took the "___ is a vampire" line a decade ago), but taken in context, they provide an excellent foundation from which to grow and mature, which does happen later on.
The album explores the intersection of racism and media frenzy ("Hunting for Witches" and "Where Is Home?"), but finds more interesting creative ground in critique of the idle middle class ("Uniform"). Some of Kele's most developed ideas and writing, however, come in the form of the songs that make up a cycle covering seduction, discovery, exploration, and the eventual end of a gay relationship. These songs, "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)," "Waiting for the 7:18," "The Prayer," "On," and "Sunday," form the emotional center of the album, at least in my opinion. It's clear to me that he has become much more comfortable with the business of dealing with personal demons as an artist, and that makes A Weekend in the Country much stronger than its predecessor, whose themes were obfuscated and at times completely missing.
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