91Èȱ¬

« Previous | Main | Next »

Bloc Party - 'Hunting For Witches'

Post categories:

Fraser McAlpine | 11:08 UK time, Thursday, 5 July 2007

Bloc Party For all of their intellectual rigour and punk-funk party backbone, there remains something very austere, unfriendly and alien about Bloc Party's music. It's partly Kele's wounded squeak, partly his almost-profound, try-too-hard lyrics, and partly the deliberate ghostly aura the band carry around with them, like their own personal raincloud.

Silly really, cos the twiddle-finger robotic riffs that the band specialise in - and this song contains a doozy - are just the kind of brash, snotty, melodic, attention-demanding fretwork that ears just can't get enough of. Certainly Bloc's axe-attack is up there with that of those Arctic Monkeys, and no-one thinks THEY'RE unfriendly, do they?

Mind you, calling a song 'Hunting For Witches' and then putting your lyrical self into the persona of a fear-addled nation is probably not going to encourage Tom Jones to mutilate/maim/kill cover your song at the next Diana tribute concert, so it's not like the band don't know what they're doing.

And, to prod what seems to be an increasingly angry-looking conversational bruise for no reason other than sheer devilment, surely a song by a guitar band in skinny jeans...who have floppy Beatle-fringe hair (on SOME of the band members) and look dead angsty and upset...about how the Daily Mail likes to scare people into forming vigilante gangs...featuring a highly-literate singer with a high, soft voice...well doesn't that all sound a bit, y'know....EMO?

*Runs To Hills. Hides Forever*

Four starsDownload: Out now
CD Released:
July 9th

(Fraser McAlpine)

Comments

  1. At 11:42 AM on 05 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    'runs to hills'......do you know how many people are gonna end up with run to the hills by iron maiden in their heads after reading that!? good song though....'emo' humph

  2. At 12:37 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Duppy wrote:

    I love Bloc Party.. I know they seem alien tio some people but they are lovely and amazing. (what a combination!) Love this song (kinda topical ain't it?)and I don't think it has gotten alot of air play on Radio one.

  3. At 01:00 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Kat wrote:

    whassamatter, Fraymond.. not feeling like you're getting enough angry comments anymore? :P

    This song is just bleh.. there's not enough in it to give it an edge.

  4. At 01:45 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Duppy wrote:

    Who's fraymond?...Am I missing something here?

    [It's my occasional nickname, don't worry Duppy, Kat's not talking to herself...much... - Fraser]

  5. At 03:53 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Duppy wrote:

    Oh, Thanks for clearing that up fraymond!

  6. At 05:12 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Al wrote:

    There always seems to be someone out there feeling the NEED to reduce the emotional emphasis bloc party put into their work, i can't imagine another band as good... and as for emo, we all know emo bands are IN at the moment! RIGHT!!!

  7. At 05:12 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Al wrote:

    There always seems to be someone out there feeling the NEED to reduce the emotional empahasis bloc party put into their work, i can't imagine another band as good... and as for emo, we all know emo bands are IN at the moment! RIGHT!!!

  8. At 10:04 PM on 05 Jul 2007, Kat wrote:

    Kerri...?

    If I talk to myself, Fraymond, it's only because what I have to say is of too high a caliber of intelligence for anyone else to understand ;)

  9. At 11:09 AM on 08 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    kat...?

    yes youre about right there :)

  10. At 07:45 PM on 08 Jul 2007, ~Rachel~ wrote:

    Kerri, it's as if you'd never gone away!

    (I'm not complaining, but you must have still got quite a lot of Australia to experience?!)

  11. At 09:36 PM on 08 Jul 2007, Richard Walker wrote:

    Bloc Party being EMO? Hmm, I don't think a band that is singing about the political and government faults of Britain should be known as Emo. Most of the depressed "Emo" bands are often writing about love and death, unlike Bloc.

  12. At 10:32 AM on 09 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    i do still have alot to do here, but moments like now (when its dark and my friend is in the bath or whatever) when i get to use the comp for 20 mins to check my emails i also use the time to check lovely old CB :D

    [Aww...well we're all missing you...as much as we CAN with you still putting comments up, obv! - Fraser]

  13. At 10:19 AM on 10 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    awww thanks fraser, CB is like an everyday part of my life at home now (is that sad? :S) so i like to keep up to date atleast whilst im not in rainy old england.

    oh and btw the time of this posting is 5.25 pm not 10.25 am as it is at home (i think)

    [CB should be part of EVERYONE'S life in this way. In many ways we're the sixth emergency service. Pop Patrol! - Fraser]

  14. At 12:46 PM on 10 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    your clock is late, unless the comments have the ability to go back in time to 6 minutes before they were actually posted (im working in GMT here)

    [GEEEEEEEK! GEEEEEEEK! - Fraser]

  15. At 11:01 AM on 11 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    yeah, and?? your point is what exactly?? :P

    i suppose i have geeky elements, like that, but im not a geek in the "i LOVE school and teachers" etc way

    i am who i am, and i like who i am

  16. At 12:57 PM on 11 Jul 2007, Kat wrote:

    Was just checking it was you :P

    Lol @ pop patrol, Fraser... God I wish that was an actual thing... you could call 'em up when your friend's music taste started to slip into ned choones or something equally crazy.. yay fun!!

    I'm back in th Scotland now.. no rain but it's DAMN COLD! :( Wanna go back to 'merica *sob*

  17. At 01:42 PM on 11 Jul 2007, Kerri wrote:

    did the goblins gobble the comment i posted a bit ago?? :'(

    [Don't think so. Was it the one about you being who you are? - Fraser]

  18. At 01:22 PM on 20 Jul 2007, JT wrote:

    This Track's Useless! Why can't Bloc Party put nice loud guitar-work like they did in Helicopter in any new tracks?

This post is closed to new comments.

91Èȱ¬ iD

91Èȱ¬ navigation

91Èȱ¬ © 2014 The 91Èȱ¬ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.