Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Released 14th February 2005, Witchita

What I thought then...
“It’s so cold in this house...” In February 2005, I was living in a cold house. A typical poorly maintained student pile. Silent Alarm had me hooked after that opening line. It all sounded so vital and important, and probably showed Epworth’s production at his best. I definitely had this album’s artwork as a poster on my bedroom wall.

What I think now...
Another band whose back catalogue I reassessed ahead of seeing them live a few years ago, Silent Alarm was always the standout and most consistent album they released. I still feel this is one of the best debut records of our time. A heady mixture of nerves and confidence. A rush of memories and regrets. This is my past in an album.

Standout Track
What to pick...Like Eating Glass began it all. Helicopter and Banquet were the dance-offs. Positive Tension, Luno and She’s Hearing Voices were for the moments of rage. Blue Light and So Here We Are were the comedown songs. It has to be This Modern Love - you just need to hear it to understand.

Live Memories
There was an NME tour that I’ll always kick myself for not going to. The Killers, Bloc Party, Futureheads and Kaiser Chiefs, more or less these blogs in one show. Still, I managed to see Bloc Party several times around this album and beyond. They closed Reading Festival in 2005 for us - with a mass of ticker tape at the end - and then there was a gig in Rock City with Patrick Wolf supporting.

What Happened Next?
They will survive, and keep on surviving. A Weekend In The City came next, my main memory of that was being the first one who got the leaked version and passing it round as many people as possible. Then came Flux, a sensational song they’ve never really been able to top, but then neither has anyone else. After Intimacy, Bloc Party were, for a while, split beyond repair. But they came back together for Four, which still feels like an album they made on the one condition it sounded nothing like Bloc Party. Thankfully, Rachet and the accompanying Nextwave Sessions EP provided better closure. In an odd coda, Bloc Party still seems to exist, albeit half the original band quit, and apparently a new album is on the way.

They will always be the band that means the most to me out of all this, and they’re the reason I’m writing this too. I always compare them to Radiohead, a band so impossibly untouchable in my affections it’s hard to be too critical about them. Compared to all their peers, it always felt like Bloc Party were pushing things further - musically, socially and against each other.

Next Time: Conclusions

Previously: The Back Room | We Have Sound | The New Fellas | Bang Bang Rock & Roll | You Could Have It So Much Better | Employment | The Futureheads | Capture/Release | A Certain Trigger | Introduction