Bloc Party Gets Intimate

So after releasing their attention-grabbing full length Silent Alarm over three years ago and more recently A Weekend in the City early last year, the British quartet Bloc Party led by vocalist Kele Okereke have finally released their follow-up album Intimacy this morning through their Web site.

At first listen, Intimacy comes off as being more "noisy" than their previous offerings, but still retains all the reasons that they blew up in the first place in 2005 after releasing Silent Alarm. Their songs are ridiculously catchy and Okereke's vocals are solid through the entire album. There aren't as melodic tracks on this album, but Bloc Party didn't stray off their formula enough to scare of their fanbase, but some might not get into Intimacy as much as they did AWitC.

Tracks like "Mercury" and "Trojan Horse" come off as almost pure electronic songs that sound more like Crystal Castles than a band like Arcade Fire. Through two and a half listens, I feel Bloc Party might have changed their style, but talent is talent and they still sound amazing.

The Calendar Revised

Hello and welcome back. If you'll check the sidebar to the right, you'll see a bunch of new dates for the Conn., Mass. and R.I. area. P.S. Ignore the Aug. 21 date- today is actually 8/23. 

It may be a bit too late to plan for some shows tonight, but I'm going to tell you about them anyways:

 The Hush Sound are headlining, along with The Cab and Steel Train at the Webster. Doors are at 6 p.m. The venue will be closing its door until Sept. 5 for a performance by Eve 6 and Stealing Jane. The Problemaddicts, a hip-hop act from Mass., are making an appearance at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Mass. The show's at 10 p.m. and tickets are $10. Sister venue Pearl Street Night Club will see headliners Gone By Daylight for a 7 p.m. show. 

If you're in the New Haven area tonight, look out for Cafe Nine's "End of Summer Dance Your Face Off Rock Show." Seriously. Seattle's welcome will be there, as well as Saint Bernadette and Milford, Conn.'s Electric Bucket. 

More calendar to come...