Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Silent Alarm is coming to be as hyped as Franz Ferdinand’s debut was around this time a year ago. They’re even compared to those snappy-dressing Scots on some levels, and while it’s easy to make such a comparison, the Bloc Party isn't the 2005 version. Does this really live up to the hype? Is it destined to be one of 2005’s top albums? Personally, I think it’s an awesome record from a superb group of musicians whose best days are yet to come, but I don’t think it’s anything amazing. While incorporating much of the post-punk/dance style into their sound, the Bloc Party still strays from much of the club-friendly lyrics that have helped their counterparts, opting instead to infuse their bass-driven, angular guitar-ridden record with a more political/social conscience edge, encouraged by Kele Okereke’s yelping. Not that I’m the first to say it, but you can hear the band’s influences busting through their music—Gang of Four, Joy Division, Sonic Youth—but overall, the Bloc Party aligns themselves more with Brit-poppers Blur, the Futureheads, and the aforementioned Franz Ferdinand, by taking their roots and putting a completely radio-friendly spin on things. Silent Alarm is entirely devoid of dull moments, devoid of anything close to lackluster. In this sense, it does live up to the hype. But it’s not going to change your life. Put in on at a party, put it on anywhere. It’s tight. Yeah, that shit is tight. [www.blocparty.com]