This came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
A party is only as good as its guest list.
That goes a long way toward explaining why Bloc Party are London’s latest buzz band. After all, how many bashes do you go to where you can rub elbows with The Cure, Joy Division, The Gang of Four, XTC and Mick Jones of The Clash? All of them are present — in spirit, anyway — on Silent Alarm, Bloc Party‘s artful and powerful debut album. On these 14 cuts, singer-guitarist Kele Okereke and co. serve up an impressive array of choppy angular guitars and syncopated white-funk grooves, topped with Okereke’s yelpy vocals and smartly politicized lyrics. Plus they aren’t afraid of the occasional earnest ballad. If their spirited but slightly uneven set at this year’s Spin bash at South by Southwest is anything to go by, Bloc Party are still finding their feet as a live act. But give them a few years — and a few more albums like this — and they’ll be in the VIP room.
