Artist: Bloc Party
Album: A Weekend in the City
Label: Vice Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: February 6, 2007

Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

Two years ago, Bloc Party exploded onto the indie rock scene with their Silent Alarm. Don’t let the driving beats of “Song for Clay (Disappear Here)� and “Hunting for Witches�, the first few tracks of their follow-up album, A Weekend in the City, fool you; the band’s sophomore album isn’t all dance-inspired/inspiring tracks like those on their debut. Rather Bloc Party delivers more diverse tunes with their second album, mellowing out on several. “Waiting for the 7.18,� for instance, highlights melodic vocals more than the dance-beat drums or the spiky guitar riffs which defined Bloc Party of Silent Alarm days. Even “The Prayer� which certainly maintains dance-music-inspired drumming displays the band’s newfound ability to vary their sound. On the whole, the changes in style make this record more interesting than the first, particularly by giving more attention to the vocals despite not having a particularly outstanding singer in Kele Okereke. This change draws the listener’s attention more to the band’s simple, yet poetic and easily relatable lyrics.

Bloc Party’s heavy reliance on synthesizers and electronic effects may easily turn off a lot of listeners; their sound is certainly not for everyone. But Kele does deliver raw emotion well through his vocals, especially on this latest release with its darker, more contemplated feel. You may not make it through the whole album if you think it’s not for you, but at least give the latter songs “Kreuzberg,” “I Still Remember,” and “Sunday” a listen and stick with “The Prayer” ’til it picks up.

Tracklisting:

1. “Song for Clay (Disappear Here)” – 4:49
2. “Hunting for Witches” – 3:31
3. “Waiting for the 7:18″ – 4:17
4. “The Prayer” – 3:45
5. “Uniform” – 5:32
6. “On” – 4:46
7. “Where Is Home?” – 4:54
8. “Kreuzberg” – 5:27
9. “I Still Remember” – 4:23
10. “Sunday” – 4:59
11. “SRXT” – 4:51 or 7:51 (3 additional minutes of silence)