OTR: Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

One thing I've noticed about "Like Eating Glass," the opening track for Bloc Party's début album Silent Alarm is that they seem to have taken some percussive cues from another opening track by another band: Radiohead's "Airbag" (from OK Computer). This, of course, is not a bad thing. More bands need to be influenced by Radiohead without totally aping their sound (and those who can do no more than ape, for example, Muse, would do well to learn to ape from an era other than The Bends). But I digress...

Around the same time as Franz Ferdinand burst out sounding like a happy version of Gang of Four, Bloc Party emerged as something seething and nervy. In the animated video for "Helicopter," the band is shown being shot out of a giant pistol, a Russian Roulette punch in the face as the chorus screams, "are you hoping for a miracle?"

Though there are many, "Positive Tension" is definite high point. The song is all nervous energy and, well, tension. The vocal effects and synths in the icy production give me the shakes - wonderful!

"Banquet" was the first single from Silent Alarm, and it's video looks like it was thrown together at the last minute to capitalise on the success of the band. Ignore the video and bask in glorious four-on-the-floor indie-rock disco that is the heart of the song. Four tracks in and this band have yet to relent...

But they mercifully give the listener some room to breath with "Blue Light" - less than three minutes though, and even then, the song's coda picks right back up in a frenzy of percussion.

And yes, I'm aware I'm going track by track with this album, which is odd for an OTR entry. Frankly though, I love this album and really can't heap enough praise upon it. Also, there's really not much of a story associated with it aside from the fact that joi_division introduced me to the group, I bought the album and listened to it ad nauseum.

So, I'll spare you another further song by song analysis save one final track: "This Modern Love," which would close side A of the album were this a record is the crown jewel in this collection. Never released as single (which is a shame), the song starts softly - or as softly as this band can get - and slowly builds into a beautiful, bouncy cacophony at the end. Kele Okereke sings call and response with himself from the left to right channel during the first verse, suddenly bursting into stereo for the pre-chorus and subsequent verses (the chorus proper comes later). Bliss! Start playing this at the club right this minute!

Why is it that the British do indie rock so much better than Americans?

Edit: Apparently what I thought was the video for "Helicopter" is actually the video for "Pioneers." Oops.