Alpha Games

Bloc Party

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There's a list of reasons to always look forward to a new Bloc Party record. There's Russell Lissack's guitar wizardry, Kele Okereke's eccentric vocal deliveries, and the dance-y, intricate drum beats; a precedent established by drummer Matt Tong. There's been a lot of changes in the Bloc Party camp though in the last little while. Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes left the band and they picked up Louise Bartle and Justin Harris to fill those positions respectively. Then they came out with 2016's Hymns, an album that went in a starkly more electronic direction compared to their previous albums. Admittedly, based on the lackluster impression I got from the album's lead single, I skipped out and never gave it a listen. However, the band is back with their first album in six years, Alpha Games, and I wanted to get back on board.

Right off the bat, I will say that this record sounds like Bloc Party is back to their old tricks which is great considering I like their unique fusion of dance and punk. Okereke holds up his end of the bargain with raps, vocal passages that range between soaring and sassy, and stoic spoken word narratives. Bartle does an excellent job of emulating Tong's drumming style while simultaneously putting her own unique spin on it. The only thing I'm let down by is the serious lack of memorable guitar moments. It is truly missing that electrifying moment, a Like Eating Glass, Helicopter, Hunting For Witches, Ares, Octopus, anything like that. Lissack has the ability to astound with all sorts of stuttering delays, crazy pitch bending, or other perplexing guitar techniques but nothing really stands out here on Alpha Games. The guitar work, for me, was a large selling feature for the band, and so my enjoyment of this record comes down to whether the band can craft a compelling song without that fancy guitar work I love so much.

The conclusion I came to is that the songwriting is compelling more often than not, but the gap is fairly small. There are some moments that truly catch me off guard, namely the intimidating Rough Justice. Okereke is at his sassiest and the 90s halloween dance party bridges are also really fun and unexpected. Sex Magik is fittingly euphoric with the frequency cut EDM synths. The track later blossoms into a very anthemic chorus where the frequency spectrum opens up, and Okereke delivers a wonderful, climbing vocal melody that instantly makes you feel warm inside. If We Get Caught I can see being a bit of a sleeper. It's not the most interesting sonically but I do think it packs an emotional punch. I really like the background vocals (which I think are provided by Bartle), and the song does have a triumphant conclusion. Oddly enough, the song I enjoyed the most was Callum Is a Snake. I think the guitar melodies here are the stickiest on the entire record, I love the shouts in the chorus, and lyrically - the concept of presenting a PSA to steer clear of that toxic friend or coworker that derives joy from spreading hearsay and peoples private tales - I found to be wholly original.

The rest, sadly, ranges between Bloc Party going through the motions or entertaining some rough ideas. The record gets off to a bit of a rough start with Day Drinking. It's a very personal tune lyrically, but the stumbling rap verses from Okereke are a little awkward and the extended Death From Above 1979 styled outro is a little... plain. Things are slightly worse on the following track, Traps. The main climbing guitar riff feels like it's been recycled one too many times, and the lyrics make my eyes roll at points. I just could not get into this one. What's even more puzzling (not in a good way) is the song The Girls Are Fighting. It sounds too much like a riff on Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Part 2, a macho arena rock vibe that I don't think the band can really pull off. Also, tt might just be me, but the intro comes really close to stealing a vocal hook from The Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). I find it to be a mess, easily the worst song on the record. And to cap things off, the closer, The Peace Offering, is so incredibly sleepy and uninteresting. The lyrics have the air of being really personal, but the narrative is so vague, lacking any sort of worthwhile events or details, that I really cannot be bothered to care.

Generally, I would consider Alpha Games to be a pretty primal record. I see an emphasis on beat and rhythm, it's instrumentally and melodically a little on the simple end of the spectrum, and Okereke's vocal performances tend to be more brash conversation than emotive singing in my opinion. Bloc Party have certainly made songs with these characteristics in the past, but here, there appears to be an imbalance and the execution is way less successful. The band continues to nail elements of their sound, but others seem to be neglected or entirely lost. Despite this, the record still has some standout moments, and there are really only two songs I genuinely disliked. I think it's enough to please hardcore fans, but I know Bloc Party can do much better.