Guide
Has it really been 20 years? ‘Silent Alarm’ saw Bloc Party burst onto the indie scene in 2005 with an irresistible blend of soaring guitars and danceable rhythms.
Since then it’s been a tumultuous couple of decades for Bloc Party with band members coming and going, and a busy few years recently supporting Paramore across the US in support of their last album ‘Alpha Games’.
But all of this was cast aside in a triumphant headline slot at Live at Leeds which saw them share in a night of celebrating their debut album and biggest hits.
Respite
Those at the front of the crowd expecting a rowdy start were given a moment of respite with the set instead opening with the delicate arpeggios of ‘So Here We Are’.
It didn’t take long for things to turn up a notch though. The jaunty drums and screeched guitars of ‘She’s Hearing Voices’ followed. And then came the first real dance along moment, and also their first deviation from the ‘Silent Alarm’ track list.
Underrated Indie Song Of All Time?
The frantic drums and guitar riffs on ‘Hunting for Witches’ make it probably one of the most under-rated indie songs of its time, and live it sounded just as fresh as it did upon its release.
There was a brief visit to their dance influenced album ‘Intimacy’ with ‘Mercury’. Then, after ‘Blue Light’, the energy was turned up once again with ‘Song for Clay (Disappear Here)’. Seamlessly they then merged into the first big hit of the night.
Kele Okereke’s vocals on his early career breakthrough hit ‘Banquet’ were matched by the thousands dancing along in the darkening field.
Following was a rare taste of the current sound of Bloc Party. ‘Traps’ from their 2022 album ‘Alpha Games’ could easily have been mistaken as a track from ‘Silent Alarm’ with its disco infused drum beats and catchy vocal hooks.
There were some moments for those at the front of the crowd to catch their breath, with deeper cuts ‘Different Drugs’ and ‘Blue’. There was even a moment to visit the lesser known pre-‘Silent Alarm’ era of Bloc Party, with the uptempo ‘Skeleton’ from their 2004 ‘Little Thoughts EP’.
But the first part of the set didn’t end completely without its high energy moments. The crowd were in full voice for ‘Silent Alarm’ fan favourites ‘Luno’ and ‘Like Eating Glass’, before the band briefly left the stage.
Very few dared get a head start on their journey home though as they knew plenty was still to come.
Encore
Not many expected the first encore track to be the moody album closer ‘Compliments’. And then the post-‘Silent Alarm’ standalone single ‘Two More Years’ was warmly received. But the opening notes to the iconic riff of ‘Helicopter’ are what really got the crowd re-animated.
Singing along to guitar riffs may be a uniquely British tradition. But even in this country, not many have been able to write a riff that can be sung along to by thousands 20 years later. ‘Helicopter’ is among the indie greats of the 2000s in this regard.
The overdrive pedals were turned off for the rising layered guitar lines on ‘This Modern Love’, followed by them launching into their dance-rock classic ‘Flux’. Its irresistible combination of emotional belt along lyrics and frantic programmed synths and drums made it one of the most unique songs of this era of indie.
This would have been as fitting a set closer as one could imagine, but Kele couldn’t resist adding one for the Bloc Party purists afterwards.
‘Ratchet’ was a single from their 2013 EP ‘The Nextwave Sessions’ that saw some of the dance and hip-hop fusions of his solo work infused with Bloc Party’s guitar driven sound.
The current trend of bands hitting the road to perform a classic album for their anniversary may reach its saturation point soon, but some albums like ‘Silent Alarm’ will always be worthy of this treatment.
Even without most of the original band members from its original release, Kele’s current Bloc Party lineup were able to make it sound as fresh as it did back in 2005.
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