Time well spent I reckon, since the album shows great polish and maturity. It starts in a pop-friendly style of party rock (pun not intended) for Like Eating Glass, Helicopter, Positive Tension and Banquet. Like Eating Glass's verses establish Bloc Party's eclectic style (particularly the drumming), with interesting sounds coming from all directions. While the chorus feels a bit tacked-on, it is wonderfully catchy and bouncy in its own right.
Similarly, Helicopter reminds me of Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out as a series of very catchy sections barely hanging together as a song. But its fun, so who am I to judge! And before the "weirdness" turns away casual listeners, another infectious catchy pop chorus comes in to keep everyone happy. It's the same story for Positive Tension, which also has a style that reminds me of The Killers somehow.
As someone hopelessly addicted to guitars playing on the offbeat (translation: I'm a ska tragic...), Banquet is a highlight for me. The guitar riff in the verses sounds quite inspired by The Clash I think. And the other ingredients are similarly high standard- another chorus achieving singalong greatness, the breaks work well, and this is one song where the sections flow into each other very well.
The album then ventures into other directions, starting with the stripped back Blue Light. Musically it's a mixed bag for me, sometimes feeling beautiful in its simplicity, other times feeling a bit aimless. The lyrics are a highlight, with some great imagery and also nicely abstract. And, no, I haven't the faintest idea what "You are the bluest light" is supposed to mean either!
This Modern Love also uses a gentle yet uplifting theme, this time with a variety of musical voices and a driving forward motion. Gentle, yet uplifting and catchy. Very nice.
Perhaps because 80s Eurupop isn't my cup of tea, She's Hearing Voices doesn't really appeal. Although I do really like the pre-chorus. The Pioneers has some great moments, but leaves me yearning for a vintage Bloc Party catchy chorus to tie it all together.
While I'm ranting... the recording quality. Ok, so it's indie rock and the sound is meant to have "character". However, I really wish it had just some bass to fill out the sound a bit. Otherwise, it's very well recorded, particularly the crispness and detail. This is critical for the songs not sounding messy, since there are often several different intricate parts being played simultaneously.
So Here We Are sits nicely on the album, although in isolation I don't think it's a very interesting song. Goes nicely on album, nothing special in isolation. Catchy choruses and feelgood lyrics are traded for an industrial and aggresive feel on Luno. I quite like it, however I think this is another song where the sections are a bit disjointed. Plans is also a bit experimental and I must admit it's not really to my taste. This is a bit of a conundrum for me, since I really admire the band for their experimentation and not producing a whole album to the pop-friendly formula of the first few songs. But on the other hand, those catchy pop ditties are the songs I enjoy the most, which is a bit embarrassing.
Luckily for me, the formulaic super-catchy hits return with Little Thoughts! The chorus doesn't hit the heights of some of the others, but the song does build up nicely throughout. The synth-pop sound of Two More Years doesn't appeal to me, but the story of the lyrics makes for a fantastic song.
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