IN REVIEW: Bloc Party - "Hymns"

For anyone who's paid attention to Bloc Party since they burst onto the scene a little more decade ago, an album likes Hymns isn't a wholly surprising development. Since that album's breakthrough of angular post-punk menace, the group has slowly but surely distanced themselves from it. By the time they got to Four in 2012, the rocking tunes were the surprising ones and the majority of the band's output had leaned further and further toward blissed out, electronically enhanced lite rock.

Hymns, their fifth album, perhaps suffers from some nasty preconceptions borne out of the weird and warped pop-gospel of lead single The Love Within. That's not totally unfair, as the point of a lead single is to build hype for the album as a whole; that said, it's not all that representative of the album, more of a palette cleanser to dissuade any thoughts of this new incarnation of the group throwing back to 2005 (Bloc Party's bassist and drummer both left the band before sessions for this album got under way). In truth, Hymns ends up being a relatively straightforward record, albeit one with a few odd detours and a higher than normal spiritual quotient.

Much more representative of this record's aesthetic is The Good News, a laid back easy number that doesn't look to grab you by the throat so much as give you a nice hug. That will put off those pining for Bloc Party's "good old days", but the more I listen to Hymns the more I'm sure that's sort of the point. Only He Can Heal Me, with its deep choral vocals and guitar disguised as a synth, is about as far away from Helicopter as it gets; and yet, it doesn't sound uncomfortable or needlessly difficult, rather a sensible and pleasant platform for Kele Okereke's vocals.

Indeed, the one thing that hasn't changed is Kele; his smooth and plaintive vocals have been a constant all along, and Hymns is another fine performance from the frontman. Different Drugs is perhaps home to this record's most effective vocal delivery, while Exes conveys his heartache in such a way that the song's emotional impact is greater than it would have been if sung by a lesser vocalist. Okereke has always had a palpable gift for melody, and it's all over Hymns.

To summarize this record is easier said than done, as it does dabble in several styles. There's the obvious gospel and soul touchstones, as well as R&B, new wave and modern indie pop. You'll note that "rock" isn't really present in those descriptions, and that's because, frankly, Bloc Party started moving away from that ten years ago. Perhaps Hymns is best summed up, then, by Kele; during Into the Earth (ironically, one of the most straightforward rock songs on the album), he sings "rock and roll has got so old / just give me neo-soul".

I'd be remiss (and come across as a gushing fanboy) if I didn't mention the fact that not everything works here. The Love Within, though it has grown on me somewhat, remains a somewhat jarring turn from the band; it, along with Virtue, are impressive enough as showcases for guitarist Russell Lissack's pedals, but I can't help but think these songs would be more pleasant with more proper guitars (such as the intermittent use of them on Virtue). Then again, if they're meant to grab attention, they do a much better job of it than a few of the other tracks; So Real and My True Name, for instance, didn't leave much of an impression one way or another after a few listens, though I wouldn't call them outright duds. I consider Living Lux the album's weakest track despite another strong vocal from Kele, because that's pretty much the only thing that's going on here. It's a low key dénouement on an album that honestly didn't need one, since it's by and large already a very chilled out affair as it is.

If you prefer Bloc Party in their original, angsty post-punk form, no explanation of what they're doing on Hymns is likely to temper your disappointment, and this isn't a record designed with nostalgia or fan service in mind. It's a smooth record, and all told a consistent one without a lot of surprises, but it nevertheless feels like Bloc Party is taking a strong stance here. They're not that indie rock buzz band anymore, and Hymns is as clear a testament as any that they don't want to be.

January 29, 2016 • Vagrant

Highlights The Good News • Different Drugs • Exes