I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] Bloc Party

For ages now I’ve felt like I should get into Bloc Party.  I mean, right from the start, I associated them with Art Brut and there’s no good reason why I didn’t jump on the Bloc Party party.  While not as “talkie” as Art Brut there is a similar vibe, with singer Kele Okereke kind of yell-speaking the lyrics.

Last year, Bloc Party played a show at the Met Philly.  I was going to go because Metric was opening.  Then they dropped out and I wound up not getting tickets–as I said, I didn’t know them all that well.  But I was really excited that they were opening for Muse on this tour, because it would finally give me a chance to check them out.

And they were fantastic.  The sound wasn’t perfect for them (too much bass drum, good heavens).  But what really impressed me about them was how great they sounded musically.  I’d always thought that the focus was on the lyrics/vocals.  And, yes, the lyrics are compelling, like on Coming on Strong

I was happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in spite of myself

But once I got past the words, I was blown away by guitarist Russell Lissack–he generated some weird and cool sounds effortlessly.  And there’s so much going on with the guitar work in Bloc Party songs.  I only wish I’d watched him from the start.  But, understandably, all eyes are on Kele–especially since he is a big muscular dude (I didn’t really know what he looked like back in the day, but he is big now!

I found myself liking their newer songs even more than their older ones.  The guitar progression of Rough Justice is great–cinematic and slightly scary at the same time.  Of course, the riff from 2012’s So He Begins to Lie is also great–heavy and lurching but really catchy as well.  And it was during this song that I really blown away by drummer Louise Bartle.  She played fast and heavy and played some really interesting drums patterns.  I realize that she didn’t play on the early albums (she joined ten years ago), but she was a force of nature live.

I enjoyed the overall vibe of these songs so far, but I was really taken with Love Bombs, because Kele really sang the chorus and it was a lovely sentiment

There’s an invisible line that goes from your heart to mine
If you close your, eyes can you feel it?

It was really delightful.

Of course, having said I liked the newer stuff better, I do really like the guitar of Banquet.  Before this song, Kele asked if we liked the previous song.  And if we did we’d like this older one too.

Traps has a great bass/guitar line.  Their bassist Harry Deacon joined in 2023, so he’s the new guy.  He also stood off to the side quite a bit, But the bass and keys were essential to the overall sound.

They slowed things down for the love song, Blue.  He said the song was all about true love.  But it didn’t last and he got this song out of it.  It was really pretty with some great martial drums as the song built up.

And then they ramped back up for the wild Helicopter (okay, yea, that first album great).  They ended with Ratchet, a super cool song.  I loved the guitar opening and watching Lissack play the weird melody.  They had a ton of fun with this song.  Kele (who seemed surprised that there was a barrier between the stage and the fans) had to engage with the audience, but taking the baseball hat off a security guy and putting his own hat on him.  He danced around in the other hat and then switched back.  But he wasn’t done with the fun.  He started running around in a circle, completely tangling his microphone stand.  When the guy came out to fix it, he linked arms with the guy and they danced around some more.

It was really fun and I will absolutely see them again if they come back to town.  And since they’re putting out a new album, maybe they’ll be back sooner rather than later.

1. Every Time Is the Last Time [TAPE] أ
2. Coming On Strong ♥
3. Hunting for Witches ∏
4. Rough Justice ∀
5. Love Bombs ♥
6. So He Begins to Lie ∉
7. Banquet Ø
8. Traps ∀
9. Blue ⇑
10. Helicopter Ø
11. Ratchet §

♥ Anatomy of a Brief Romance (2026)
⇑ The High Life EP (2023)
∀ Alpha Games (2022)
§ The Nextwave Sessions EP (2013)
∉ Four (2012)
∏ A Weekend in the City (2006)
Ø Silent Alarm (2005)
Ø£ Hidden track (before track one) on Silent Alarm (2005)