Track Listing

1. Like Eating Glass
2. Helicopter
3. Positive Tension
4. Banquet
5. Blue Light
6. She's Hearing Voices
7. This Modern Love
8. Pioneers
9. Price Of Gas
10. Little Thoughts (bonus track)
11. So Here We Are
12. Luno
13. Plans
14. Compliments

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2508 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Album Description
Bloc Party is an autonomous unit of un-extraordinary kids reared on pop culture between the years 1976 and the present day. They eventually concluded that their own attempts to imitate what had informed them could be innovative and fresh.

Amazon.com
Styled more along the lines of a revolutionary cell than a band, Bloc Party approach the medium of rock'n'roll with the sort of high seriousness usually reserved for philosophy lectures. Yet on Silent Alarm, this "autonomous unit" of smart, wiry London youth don't just succeed in reinvigorating the artform--they come pretty close to reinventing it from the ground up. Whereas early singles like "She's Hearing Voices" found the band still attempting to chisel their own image out of familiar post-punk reference points--The Fall, Joy Division, and Gang Of Four, to name but three--newer tracks such as "Like Eating Glass" and the prickly "Price Of Gas" find Bloc Party pioneering a freshly-minted template of staccato percussion, expansive soundscapes, and cryptic lyrics that artfully straddle the political and the personal. Russell Lissack has forsaken that overdone hallmark of post-punk, brittle tortured-fretboard skronk, in favor of an effects-laden guitar sound that adds genuine prettiness to Bloc Party's edgy rush. But it's Kele Okereke's vocal that's the band's most flexible facet, morphing from frothing anger to breathless desperation. "Are you hoping for a miracle?" he bays, on "Helicopter". Yes? Well Silent Alarm ably fits the bill. --Louis Pattison

Entertainment Weekly
"It's just a matter of time before London's groovy post-punkers Bloc Party take the States by storm"

Customer Reviews

awesome cd!!!
I have already owned this cd for quite some time. It was bought as a birthday gift. LOVE this albumn - everyone should own it!!!

One of those rare albums...
...that is basically great all the way through. The only misstep is the last song "Compliments", which I just found really lame. Other than that, though, every one of these songs is great. As is with most terrific bands, it's difficult to describe their sound, but to me, it's like (not entirely, but this is the best I could do) Radiohead playing with Gang of Four, mixed in with their own elements.
The songs are well-written, with the sort of angular funk you come to expect from bands of this ilk used to great effect. Kele Okereke's (if that's not how it's spelled, sorry) yelpy but melodic voice drives the melodies along, with drummer Matt Tong propelling the groove forward (without him, I think, the band would be less exciting). "Like Eating Glass", "Helicopter", "Positive Tension", "Banquet", and "She's Hearing Voices" are the best tracks, in my opinion, so if you don't feel like getting the whole album ('tard), PLEEZ, I BEG OF YOU, at least get those.
Overall, tied for my favorite album I've bought this year, along with Built to Spill's "Perfect From Now On".

One of the best albums of the decade.
A perfect mix of post-punk, alt rock, and dance. What really stands out about the album is that there is quite a variety in sounds and textures throughout (much like a Radiohead album). From the anthems Like Eating Glass and Banquet, to the more ambient rock tracks Blue Light and So Here We are, to a electro dance track She's Hearing Voices, the straight experimental rock tracks Price of Gas and Plans, to the rock tracks Helicopter and Little Thoughts, and the perfectly haunting finale Compliments. Kele's vocals and philosophically relevant lyrics, along with the precise drumming, cool bass and that awesome Fender Telecaster sound create a wonderful amalgamation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.