Four (Amazon Exclusive Version)

Bloc Party | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: August 21, 2012
• Label: Frenchkiss Records
• Copyright: (c) 2012 Bloc Party under exclusive license to Frenchkiss Records
• Total Length: 47:17
• Genres:
  • Rock
• ASIN: B008YHRQS0
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,242 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Pitchfork Schmitchfork! Fantastic Indie Guitar Record! August 21, 2012

By Steven C.

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

On May 31st of this year, Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke took to the internet. He began by apologizing for two not-very-funny jokes that had come in the months since Christmas 2010. One had suggested that he was booted from the band (he explained that he himself created the lie and it got out of control), and another suggested that an aging ex-Pearl Jam drummer had replaced mainstay Matt Tong. Neither of these hoax attempts were true - nor were they necessary. After the tour supporting their last album, 2008's Intimacy, Bloc Party found themselves at a creative standstill. Okereke thought the timing was right to "make a record that excites people in the clubs like M.I.A.'s XR2," as he put it. With a solo album and a dubstep EP behind him, Okereke explained that Bloc Party were indeed back together and had, in fact, just wrapped up recording their best record to date in Manhattan.

Bloc Party has a strong following comprised of two types of fans: there are fans that embrace their constant evolution and fans that want them to record Silent Alarm over and over and over again. After listening to Four - an album Okereke says got its title not because it was the band`s fourth album, but rather because it was a raw sound of four guys playing in room together - this record will both satisfy fans from both camps, and alienate some fans from both camps. Interested in always evolving, Bloc Party ditched both of their former producers, Jackknife Lee and Paul Epworth, and recruited producer Alex Newport of Mars Volta fame. Newport suggested that Bloc Party make a record the old-fashioned way: no ProTools, no layering, no over-synthesized effects. The outcome is a record that, at times, rocks harder than anything that the band has ever done.

The lead single, "Octopus," finds the band renewed and revitalized. It's energetic, aggressive, and incredibly inventive. The guitar recalls one of guitarist Russell Lissack's heroes, Graham Coxon of Blur (see "On Your Own" from Blur's 1997 eponymous album). With that said, "Octopus" is really no indication of what was to come. Apart from this single and a similarly styled track called "Team A," you can hardly hear the influences that had littered their first three albums (Suede, The Cure, Blur, and The Smiths). Also, you get the sense that Kele has the danceclub electronics completely out of his system and that he's given Russell the key to the closet where he had his guitar locked up for more than four years. In fact, their last single before the hiatus, "One More Chance," now sounds like a different band.

The album showcases Russell's guitar - and an influence that may remind one of Deftones' White Pony (see "Kettling" and "3x3") . Matt Tong's explosive drumming returns to the fore. Interestingly, Kele has dumbed down his lyrics quite a bit for this record in a purposeful way, similar to what one of his idols Brett Anderson did when writing Suede's 1996 album Coming Up. Along with less meaningful, less heartbreaking and personal lyrical content, many songs show a more subdued vocal. That works here because the purpose of this record is to showcase all four members (all masters of their craft) not just Kele. This record is about a rock guitar that, in parts, may shock Bloc Party's fan base.

But make no mistake: this does not sound anything like Silent Alarm. If you were hoping to bounce along to a "Helicopter" sound-alike, you're not going to get that. Instead, you get songs like "Kettling," their hardest rocking track to date. It rocks so hard, it almost cannot even be classified as alternative rock - though it does seem to have a bass structure very similar to "Bulls on Parade" from Rage Against the Machine. This is one the record's standout tracks that finds Okereke aggressively belting out, "We smash the window! Popo don't ---- around!", telling the story of the recent riots in London - through the eyes of the rioter. Other glimpses of rock guitar can be found on the tracks "Coliseum" (complete with an intro that recalls Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Ain't No Easy Way" from "HOWL") and "We Are Not Good People." While you do get glimpses of A Weekend In the City-era Bloc Party on tracks like "Day Four", the splendid and melodic "The Healing, and "Truth," and unfortunately get some less immediate songs, like on the record's most personal track "Real Talk," this album, while often showcasing varying styles, is cohesive and reiterates Bloc Party's legacy of constant evolution. But instead of defining evolution as pretentious, oft-unlistenable electronic noise (ahem, King of Limbs), they define it as showing the world they can often rock as hard as anyone - and at times even harder than Silent Alarm. It's a very strong return effort. Is it Bloc Party's best record? I'm not quite ready to give it such a crown - especially with Silent Alarm in their back catalogue, but I can confirm these two things: Pitchfork got it wrong this time - and having scanned Four`s deluxe edition from front-to-back seventeen times now, curiously, Kele never says the word "cruel" once.

Start With: KETTLING, V.A.L.I.S., COLISEUM, THE HEALING

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Reinvigorated Bloc Party Returns.... August 21, 2012

By T. A. Daniel TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:MP3 Music

Bloc Party's recent release, FOUR, is aptly named: it's been four years since their last album, the band's personnel consists of four core members, and after all, this is their fourth studio album. It comes after a two-year self-imposed hiatus that found members of Bloc Party dabbling in other projects briefly (notably, lead singer Kele Okereke's electronic-dance record THE BOXER). After the band's 3rd album INTIMACY, the break seems to have rejuvenated the band's music and energy. With help from producer Alex Newport (who has helped with At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta, and City and Colour), FOUR has an energy and immediacy that hasn't been heard in Bloc Party since their debut.

Where more indie-rock groups have decidedly gone more electronic in recent times, Bloc Party's FOUR is raw in comparison. Even with the beginning of the album, the band has taken an approach that is messy and streamlined: "So He Begins to Lie" gives a false start before launching into the song proper. The track leads into "3x3," a song that picks up the pace even further. The album-promoting single "Octopus" serves as a highlight of the album, and it's a good representative sample for the rest of the album (guitar-centric, with the vocalist pleading with his trademark vocals). FOUR's first downtempo song, "Real Talk" is a great detour that veers in some unexpected places. The Philip K. Dick-inspired "V.A.L.I.S." is a decent enough song, but it's head-bobbing, hand-clapping beat is infectious. The lyrics here aren't nearly as revealing or heartbreaking as they were on previous albums (particularly A WEEKEND IN THE CITY), with much of the content here focusing on anarchy and paranoia. The album seems to lose its way towards the end -- the riffs aren't as hard, the vocals not as urgent, the ballads not as heartbreaking -- but it's alright: FOUR is a fun ride worth taking.

Fans of Bloc Party's SILENT ALARM will really dig this record. I would recommend this to fans of Artic Monkeys, Metric, and Two-Door Cinema Club. The harder edge that the band brings to this album may put off some of the band's more recent fans, but it will be sure to surprise others. Essential tracks to sample/download: "Real Talk," "3x3," and "Octopus."

(Additional Release Information)
Bloc Party's FOUR is scattered across a variety of editions. The "normal" edition is a dozen tracks long. The iTunes-exclusive edition comes with an extra track: "Black Crown." The Amazon MP3-exclusive edition comes with an extra track: "Lean." The "Deluxe Edition" of FOUR includes two tracks: "Mean," and "Leaf Skeleton."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars At their rocking best! August 21, 2012

By Nse Ette TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

On their aptly titled fourth album "Four", UK Indie quartet Bloc Party ditch the electro dance sound of "Intimacy" or even lead vocalist Kele Okereke's solo efforts ("The Boxer" and "The Hunter EP") and return to their guitar roots, as tracks like the crunchy pair of "So He Begins To Lie" and "Kettling" (the latter inspired by the London riots of last year), the frenetic "3x3" (with whispered to urgent vocals), the stuttering "Octopus", the Bluesy "Coliseum" (with explosive bursts of guitar), the Dance/Rock "V.A.L.I.S", the twitchy groovy "Team A" show, or the mesmerizing "Mean" (available on the deluxe edition) show.

Quieting things down are "Real Talk" (with Okereke's raw bruised vocals set to a shuffling and jangly backdrop), "Day Four" (with chiming guitars), the pulsing "Truth", and the lovely "The Healing" (sung in dreamy falsetto).

A winner!