Silent Alarm

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Styled more along the lines of a revolutionary cell than a band, Bloc Party approach the medium of rock'n'roll with the sort of high seriousness usually reserved for philosophy lectures. Yet on their debut album, Silent Alarm, this "autonomous unit" of smart, wiry London youth don't just succeed in reinvigorating the artform – they come pretty close to reinventing it from the ground up.

Whereas early singles like "She's Hearing Voices" found the band still attempting to chisel their own image out of familiar post-punk reference points – The Fall, Joy Division, and Gang Of Four, to name but three – newer tracks such as "Like Eating Glass" and the prickly "Price Of Gas" find Bloc Party pioneering a freshly-minted template of staccato percussion, expansive soundscapes, and cryptic lyrics that artfully straddle the political and the personal. Russell Lissack has forsaken that overdone hallmark of post-punk, brittle tortured-fretboard skronk, in favour of an effects-laden guitar sound that adds genuine prettiness to Bloc Party's edgy rush. But it's Kele Okereke's vocal that's the band's most flexible facet, morphing from frothing anger to breathless desperation. "Are you hoping for a miracle?" he bays, on "Helicopter". Yes? Well Silent Alarm ably fits the bill. --Louis Pattison

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-02-17 rating:
Current favourites
I only got into Bloc Party about a year ago, with the release of A Weekend in the City. Before that, I was pretty much unaware of their existence, but thanks to NME magazine, which I discovered at the same time, and the popularity of the singles The Prayer (which to be honest I don't really like) and the song I Still Remember, I decided to buy that album. And absolutely loved it.

I therefore later decided to buy Silent Alarm, even though I was only aware of one song off the album, the amazing So Here We Are. I absolutely adored it. Having been raised on a diet of The Cure, Elvis Costello and Oasis by my father, indie music is pretty much imprinted on my skull and Bloc Party are one of the best bands around at the moment, if not THE best. I have a pet hatred of the bands regarded as 'indie' at the moment such as the Hoosiers or Scouting for Girls, and so I always feel wary about saying I like that genre, but I'm not quite sure how else to describe a band like Bloc Party.

Fantastic guitars, great riffs and a distinctive lead vocal. My particular favourites are Like Eating Glass and Helicopter, which have an ability to really make me feel good. I can't even explain why. I don't claim to be a great music critic (I took music at GCSE and scraped a C) but I can tell you, at the moment I consider this band to be one of the best ones around.

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review by: Layton date: 2008-01-13 rating:
Flawless? ... i think so....
Put simply this is the most important album to have hit me in years, since its first release to the present day there isn't a single album that is in the mind or CD player ect as much as silent alarm, it is an astounding piece of work whether taking into account it is a commercial debut or not. The work of Matt Tong is above everything else on offer by other musicians in the UK at the moment, recorded ad live he is the most talented drummer around in my opinion, this coupled with the rest of the band's sense of 'sonic youth' ethics, brings a album full of ideas and a strong sounds that relates to whats going on. Theres not a single track i don't love, to the point where i can't pick out any tracks which 'stand out' because they all do and they all have their own unique sounds and styles... buy it now!

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review by: date: 2008-01-08 rating:
chekit
Bloc Party are an odd band really; they have the whitest ever black guy as a lead singer & a drummer with a better sense of rhythm than most hip hop producers. That's not enough for Silent Alarm to live up to the astonishing hype, of course, but it still stands higher than most of the British indie released around this time. As a bonus, there's also a sense that the band was actually having fun making this record, something that was lacking in the awful & far too serious second album.

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review by: qes date: 2007-11-19 rating:
A good indie band?
Preety impressed with this, I think the great thing about Bloc Party is their abilty to impress those who generally don't like Indie, like me.

My RnB mates like tracks like So Here we are and I like tracks like Like Eating Glass which has a great hip hop beat to it.

Silent Alarm is probably the best guitar album since Ok Computer, although that is not an acheivement.


review by: date: 2007-07-14 rating:
One of my favourites
In a word - AWESOME.
Their debut is brilliant and hits all the spots for me. With amazing songs such as Helicopter where you could recognise it anywhere and She's Hearing Voices Bloc Party are really one great band. The drumming is great as is the singing. Everything about them is great.
The lyrics seem to actually mean something and will have you singing along if not out loud then in your head!.
For all fans of Brit pop/rock Bloc Party is the band for you.

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