r/BlocParty

Hi there, fellow blocheads! So, I want to get something out of my chest. First of all, I have to say that I appreciate that a part of this community is demanding and exigent with the band as they know what they are capable of. But, man, it has got to a point where I don't think it is objective.

Like, yeah, we all love Silent Alarm and Gordon and Matt, but, can we appreciate what they are offering us for what it is? Seriously, I can't comprehend how Alpha Games, for example, is so forgotten and underestimated. Like, that's some of Bloc Party's best work ever. It might be my second favorite album they've released! In Situ, Day Drinker, Traps, If We Get Caught, Rough Justice, Callum Is A Snake, Acting Out, Strut... C'mon, all of them are bangers! Top Tier Bloc Party, if you ask me. And it feels like a celebration and a mixture of all the work they've made in the past. And I know some people criticize the lyrics in recent years, but Alpha Games was supposed to be an album that reflects about toxicity and the worst in people, so it makes kind of sense the approach they took. And Kele's delivery and diction was fantastic. I'll always defend it. I even like the "lickety split" line! Not everything has to be superdeep and intense, that was fun!

In my case, I wasn't a big fan of Hymns at first, but, with the time, I've come to love it too. It's different, it's more electronic and calmed and atmospheric, but there are days for that too, and BP has always embraced progress and change. I get why a big portion of the people miss the old Bloc Party, but this is not 2005. They are not in their 20s. Society and music ain't the same either. And yet, they are still in fantastic shape and I see them as one of the greatest alt rock bands in the world today.

So, yeah, I'm really excited for Anatomy Of A Brief Romance. At this point, I just trust them. They are that good, even if some people are blinded by their past. The other day I got a little mad when people were bashing them in indieheads and other communities. People even asking them to stop releasing music. Well F* those jerks. Bloc Party is my favorite band. I love what they are doing currently, and I hope they can and they want to continue for years. Always pushing boundaries, trying to create new things, taking risks. That's my good ol' Bloc Party!

As we know, Anatomy Of A Brief Romance is a concept record about a relationship Kele was in recently. Curiously, it’s not about divorcing the man he married and had two kids with. Instead, it’s about a different man he had a brief rebound relationship with afterwards.

This is interesting, because writing about love and heartbreak isn’t unusual for Kele. He’s been doing it consistently for the last 25 years. So why single out this guy and make a whole album about him, considering you only dated a year and he wasn’t even your husband?

This is my theory - this guy was BAD. Like, real bad. Possibly bad in a way we’re not prepared for. That’s why I think this might be the darkest Bloc Party record.

In an interview with Billboard, Kele had this to say

“In the past year I’ve been through quite an unbelievable time and had some very difficult relationships with people, and this is the only place to put all of that.

Without wanting to go into too much detail, I had a relationship with someone that wasn’t honest and I think I need the world to see that. So this next Bloc Party record is going to come from a place of necessity... It’s going to be emotional, for sure.”

With one of the first songs on the album, which is supposed to be the happy joyous love song to kick things off, Kele slips in this jarring line

“He shows me creep shots he took of me before we'd even been introduced”

That is fucked. It’s straight up illegal, actually. The fact it’s autobiographical makes it all the more disturbing. This makes me think if that’s how we’re starting proceedings, imagine how much worse things are going to get from here.

Talking about it with NME, he describes it like this:

“You’re not seeing their problems, and they’re not seeing your problems. You’re just shaping up and getting ready for this ride… [but] I like the fact that harmonically and musically, it feels dark, sinister, like something is creeping up.

Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me. I had to tell the story, from start to finish”

I think we're in for something a lot more dark and twisted than just I Still Remember or Ion Square 14 times.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYe4vJnNZ1O/?igsh=MXRvZ3F2b3kzYnowZw==

Also, the Yin-Yang is to mean contrasting themes/styles - I LOVE all of the albums (that are currently out)

I don‘t know if it’s just nostalgia but I think the old one is much better, it just gives this chill vibe

In the track 'It Wasn't Meant To Be' from The Singing Winds, the lyrics mention letting someone down at their birthday table. Track 8 from the new album is called 'Worst Birthday Ever' - is this where things will start to turn sour in the narrative for the new album?

In the track 'I'm In Love With An Outline' from The Flames, the lyrics mention loving/longing for a silhouette/outline/blank image. Both cover artworks for ​the new album feature a silhouette figure, presumably the mystery man (Pigwig, Clark Kent?).

I think I've probably found as many links as I can for now. Hope you've enjoyed these deep dives. Some might be pretty accurate, some probably wild speculation 😂

Muscleworks Gym hoodie and track 6 is titled "Muscleworks", presumably this is the gym mentioned in the lyrics of 22.01.22.

The image is from Kele's talk with Cush Jumbo in her podcast last year, worth listening to if you want more insight on the motivations behind the new album!