Customer Reviews

Intimacy [Vinyl LP with Download Card]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Music has always played a huge part in my life. I always relate events in my life and where I was to what song I was listening to. It can sometimes be emotional to me as well. No band has made me feel so many different things and left me with great memories over the last couple of years than Bloc Party. Their first album was a great introduction to what they would have to offer in the future. Everyone complains that their second album was just boring and huge let down. A great sign of band is a band that continues to grow and challenge themselves instead of just making the same album over and over. Yes, weekend in the city is nothing like Silent Alarm, but it is still just as rewarding an album with absolute stark and beautiful moments.
Now comes their new album that again, is unlike their previous efforts and shows them growing again. This is who they are now and what they are now is a band that can get you grooving wherever you are, and then pull you down and just make you smile at the quieter moments. The 4 additional songs here are a great addition to the set that was released digitally 2 months ago. The best of them is Talons. There is also, in my opinion, the best stretch of their songs in a row out of any of their album, which goes from zephyrus to Letter to my son. Better than Heaven and Ion Square pack a great one-two punch also. This is just a band that needs to be appreciated for what they are doing. Just sit back and enjoy one of the best albums of the year.

Bloc Party has never been a band to stick with a single genre. This was shown on their debut album, 'Silent Alarm' and furthered itself on their greatly-under-appreciated 'Weekend in the City'. With their newest release, 'Intimacy', Bloc Party has once again reinvented themselves and shattered any preconceptions that one might have about the English group.

Upon exploring 'Intimacy' the album abruptly explodes in your face with the electronic/dance rebellion-screaming 'Ares' and delivers an immediate response with the first single from the album, 'Mercury'. Every track on this album will make you want to sing along, dance, and move to every beat. Although some may be adverse to the use of electronic/rock sounding rhythms, Bloc Party uses these techniques perfectly and takes full advantage of the energy they can create.

It must be said though, the standout song (believe it or not) is the slowest song they offer up this turn. The minimalistic approach used in the song 'Signs' will leave you in awe while the lyrics could bring one to tears. From an album this loud, something this quiet and simple shows the band can perform beautifully no matter the pacing.

The only mark against the album is that it does move at such a fast pace that some of the songs tend to sound alike (this is thanks to the use of the electronic style ever-present on this album.)

All in all, this album is a must have. It's an exciting and intimate look into singer/songwriter Kele Okereke's intimate life while keeping the songs uplifting and fun. While there are one or two songs that fall short, they fall because the rest of the album is so well done. Easily a contender for 2008 Album of the Year.

(4.5 out of 5)

I absolutely love this Bloc Party cd. I enjoyed all of their music but this is perhaps my favorite album they put out. I immediately adored the first six tracks but it took longer to warm up to the rest. However, once I did, I found some of the most haunting and wonderful songs like "Your Visits Are Getting Shorter" and the undeniably intense "Talons". This cd always makes me think of long nighttime drives in the summer. I never even skip a track - and for me that's the highest honor I bestow on an album.

I loved their debut album Silent Alarm, as most people do, and I enjoyed their follow up, Weekend in the City as well, but currently, I am OBSESSED with Intimacy. The first song I heard was "Signs" which at first listen, I thought was pretty, but a little too soft for my taste. Then, I listened again with the volume way up, and looked up the lyrics, and the song literally brought tears to my eyes. It is a beautiful song musically and lyrically - truly monumental. Another track to mention is "Mercury". Many people seem to dislike this song or criticize it for its strange un-Bloc Party-like style, but I happen to love it. The first time I heard it, I thought it was a little weird and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Then I noticed that the song would not get out of my head....it would just play over and over in my head until I had to listen to it...Now, I love everything about it...the experimental horns are weird but so cool! It really gets addicting. My other favorite tracks are "Better than Heaven" which has a haunting and intense feeling to it. Another amazing one is "Biko" which I think is pretty underrated. If you really listen to the lyrics it is a beautiful and sad song. Long story short, GET THIS ALBUM!!

I was fondly hoping that this album make up for the previous, A Weekend In The City, which was somewhat a letdown in my opinion. After having listened to Intimacy the first couple of times I wasn't that convinced of the album. Nevertheless, a couple of listens later, I felt that the album grew on me, rendering me now obliged to say that, in my opinion, this is their best album yet and possibly one of the best albums in general.
About the album itself can be said a few things. It seems as the band has combined their previous two albums. Namely the rockaspect of Silent Alarm and the experimental aspect of AWITC. In my opinion a very succesful combination. The album comprises of some solid rock songs and some ballads, sometimes with no guitar at all. The lyrics, especially on the ballads, are mostly brilliant and touching, knowing that Kele wrote most of them after a breakup. Due to the vocal effects, especially on Zephyrus, it feels that Kele really is in pain when singing the song.
I have two favourite tracks, one rock and one ballad: Talons and Zephyrus.

Great album! This is a bit different from their previous work, more electronic but equally awesome! You can appreciate each instrument playing along each song. Those drums are a killer. Bloc Party is a great band making great music!

What happened to my favorite rock band from the U.K.? I still to this day choose Silent Alarm as my running music. Weekend in the City had some redeeming qualities. Growth, blah, blah, blah. If you're going to move in to a new direction at least be good at it. Intimacy is just "OK" in my opinion.
Electronic music is huge in England, and obviously eBloc Party has been greatly influenced by it. But they're just not that good at it. Please go back to what you know, what you do well.

When I heard their one-off single, the electro/dance rock "Flux" last year, I half hoped there would be more of the same on their next CD. "Intimacy" is the third CD from UK Alternative Rock quartet Bloc Party and artistically, it strides the balance between their debut and sophomore discs. It took me a while to get into it but it's since joined their debut as my joint favourite.

The lovely glitchy ballad "Biko" finds lead singer Kele Okereke displaying his Nigerian heritage as he laments the death of a loved one. "Biko" is "Please" in Igbo. "Zepherus" has a halting beat and haunting harmonies against a spare electro backdrop. The other ballad is the tinkling "Signs" with swirling synth effects.

"Halo" is a catchy blistering upbeat rocker (with a drumkit demolishing beat),as is the similar "One month off", while the static/distorted sounding "Trojan horse" finds Okereke singing lyrics of regret.

Every song really is a standout; from the bouncy Cure-channeling "Better than heaven", "Ion square", the hard rocking "Talons", and the spare beat-heavy pair of "Ares" and "Mercury" which sound like Kele and the lads have been listening to a lot of the Chemical Brothers.

What more can I say? I love it!!!

After the release "A Weekend In The City," Bloc Party have followed it up with "Intimacy." Thankfully, this album recaptures some of the joy that was found on "Silent Alarm." The opener, "Ares" is rather off putting. The song begins promisingly enough with a very distorted guitar before divulging in a shouty cheerleader-esque rhythm. The song then breaks into a "Blue Light" melody before dissipating completely into an intro for "Mercury."

The single "Mercury" reminds me somewhat of a David Bowie impersonator trying his hand at jungle, which is fine, if you're into that sort of thing. To me it's kind of retro, a bit monotonous and it sounds like album filler/fluff. In retrospect, as much as I did not like "Mercury," it still sounds a bit more polished than the opener. The track, "Halo" cannot come soon enough. It's like a respite in a sea of mediocrity. All blustery guitars, this song marks the return to form that Bloc Party so desperately needs. Then comes "Biko", which I was half suspecting to be a Peter Gabriel cover. Thankfully, it's not; it is more of a Bloc Party ballad, although it really wouldn't be out of a place on a Peter Gabriel album. Consider this your robotic, "Blue Light" moment complete with staccato drum machine beats.

The album then picks up again with; "Trojan Horse" which sounds like it could have been a b-side from "Silent Alarm Remixed." This track features an acidic guitar solo, which definitely benefits the claustrophobic dance beats. The next song, "Signs" is another slower song and features a chiming melody, which proves to be juxtaposition of what you have heard previously. It illustrates a lyric of longing and builds appropriately prepping you for the angry beats of "One Month Off."

The closers on this album begin with the operatic "Zepherus." "Zepherus" is oddly out of place after "One Month Off". Kele sings like he is surrounded by a group of dance floor angels for unrequited love, and it really does not fit well with what preceded it. "Better Than Heaven" follows as a stronger track. The themes of longing and anger seem to be building to a suitable closing. This track also marks the return of much needed guitar to break up the dance beats that have dominated this album. "Ion Square" segues back to familiar territory and winds the album to a close with a melancholy keyboard based melody.

Overall, I applaud Bloc Party for attempting new sounds. I'm also grateful this album is not as maudlin as "A Weekend In The City." The band sounds reinvigorated, and out of the sophomore slump phase of their career. If I could give this album a grade, I'd say it would be a "B". Hopefully these songs translate well live, as that is where I would like to see them next.

I truly have trouble getting through this. It's a self-indulgent, contrived effort by a band that would be better served to not take itself so seriously.

It's about as intimate as a morose college boy sitting alone in a dorm lobby.

This band would be better off to live a few years before tackling such self-satisfying observations and instead return to its musical roots and prove itself that way.

English bands, it seems, often fall for their own hype and then fall flat on their musical efforts on their second and third releases, and this has happened with this band.

jh
A Bottle of Rain
Nowhere Near the Sea of Cortez