With that in mind, I’m coming at this album with the same view of the band as many other fans. Bloc Party started out with their indie rock masterpiece Silent Alarm, and have kinda been teetering off ever since. A Weekend in the City was solid, with perhaps a few missteps, and Intimacy wasn’t bad (I actually quite like that album). But Four was a generally a disappointment, and since then anything Bloc Party releases has me initially a little skeptical.

The band has always been heavily influenced by dance and electronic music. In Silent Alarm, it was seen through the sonic space and atmosphere given to the record that made it sound so different from other modern brit-rock groups. Then, it started to come in a little more obvious in the next few records. One off singles like Flux and One More Chance (along with lead singer Kele Okereke’s solo stint The Boxer) showed a clear desire to make straight dance music. My first thought when listening to Hymns was “Well, they finally did it. They finally did a whole album of it”. And that’s true, to some extent. While the band claimed their previous record Four was a return to guitar driven rock (…umm…), this record feels like a distinct jump in the opposite direction. In fact, these two records now form an interesting dichotomy for the post-hiatus period of the band’s discography.

“The Love Within” is a telling introduction to the album. It introduces themes of God, drugs, love, and dancing that are recurrent throughout the record. It is shameless dance cut that doesn’t hold much that calls for a second listen. But, it will still worm its way into your mind and be stuck in your head for hours afterwards. “Only Can He Can Heal Me” taps into the slower and more melancholic electronic songs of the band’s past (think “Zerpher”), and for me these were always high points.

“The Good News” is the first song on the record that prominently features a guitar, which is a shame considering I’m a huge fan of guitarist Russell Lissack’s work. And while this is far from his best riffing (it still hints at that hard rock twang that flopped on Four), it’s a nice change of pace. “Into the Earth” is also guitar driven, and has a much more soulful groove (with lyrics like “Rock n roll has got so old, just give me neo-soul). The interplay of the guitar and bass is perfect, and really gives the beat something to work with. This is one of my favorites from the record, and one that seems to capture some of that old magic. Unfortunately those songs seems to be fewer and farther between as the records keep coming.

Another reason I deeply love Bloc Party are their slow jams (songs like “Day Four” and “Real Talk” are my favorites from Four). And while it’s not their best, “My True Name” is at least somewhere in the ball park. The third single from Hymns is “Virtue”. The song isn’t bad, but for me it highlights how this album tries to reach for glory, but ultimately falls short. The banter between guitar and synthesizer here sounds more like an argument than a collaboration. Instead of working together, the two instruments and styles grind against each other, and the song ends up weaker for it.

In the end, I’ve developed the same attitude for Bloc Party as I have of another favorite band of mine, Say Anything. I really love their work, but I recognize that it was a time and place that won’t be repeated. I go into new albums with low expectations, in order to avoid disappointment. But, every now and again I find a few songs that seem to harken back to the same magic I first fell in love with. And I’m left hoping that maybe, just maybe, they’ve still got the stuff.

Click here to download Hymns from iTunes. Check out a stream of the album below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLeHKD_xjZjfun3Vy3hIIRYwfg4dHuWhUJ&v=Zbl5MBzCMu0

The post Album Review: “Hymns” by Bloc Party appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Infinity Tree is a four-piece alternative rock band from Media, Pennsylvania. The boys of the band (Robby Brod, Craig Whitney, John Sweeney, and Mark Savidge) have been making music together for over 7 years, and their latest release under their newest band name is Wander. Wander was released on January 2 of this year, and the 6 song record (something between an EP and a full length album) is nothing but the good stuff: solid, guitar-driven indie rock.

The record kicks off with “Don’t Know Why,” one of my favorites. It’s a high energy groove that perfectly introduces and sets the tone and atmosphere of the rest of the record. The melodic guitar riffs grab your ear, and pull you along the throughout the song, whether it’s the guitar leading the charge or the vocals taking over. The stutter-stopping verse helps to keep the listener on their toes, making sure your attention is never lost. Lyrics like “When I was 18, I thought I knew myself completely” tell a story of confusion and mixed emotions at a new point in life, with the past far behind and the future uncertain.

“Stranger in the Home” keeps the energy up, with a bit more of a funky groove. The bass line really stands out in this song, and the different vocalist shows that each musician in the band really knows their craft. “Limitless Breath” slows things down a bit, and shows a different side of the band’s sound. Shrouded in reverb and a spacey atmosphere, the echo-laden guitars remind me of early era Bloc Party (high praise coming from such a big fan). The guitar work here might be my favorite on the record, and the climatic build up at the end. Those are the moments in music that I fall in love with.

“Barren Walls” is the ballad of the record, with the most emotionally rich lyrical moments. The soft noodling guitars provide the backdrop for a story of a love that is no more. The vocal effects and the falling delivery of the lyrics give off a dreamy vibe. “Stasis” kicks things back up with higher energy and tempo.  Shifting rhythms between breezy open chords and harsh staccatos have the song feeling urgent and anxious, pulling the listener along. “Separate”, the final track on the record, is the one that I can’t quite put my finger on. It sounds like it could easily fit on the Yellow EP of The Dear Hunter’s The Color Spectrum, and its rock steady four-on-the-floor rhythm is hypnotizing. For whatever reason, this song feels difficult to describe for me, but it remains one of the strongest on the record.

If you’re looking for some new indie rock music, or if you’re looking to impress your friends with truly obscure and underground band knowledge, check out Infinity Tree’s Wander. Stream the entire album below, and click on the band’s Bandcamp page for a free download.

Wander by Infinity Tree

The post Album Review: “Wander” by Infinity Tree appeared first on KRUI Radio.