Bloc Party
Hymns

That the new work by Bloc Party would sound so blatantly pop and so different from the previous works of the English band was all too predictable.

Without two founding members (Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes), Bloc Party today is in the hands of the remaining Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke, finally free to explore their influences, particularly electronic ones. Accompanying them are Justin Harris, bassist, and drummer Louise Bartle (it should be noted, however, that the latter did not participate in the recordings).

If Okereke's solo works, teetering between the classic overseas garage and the more melodic EDM, had already given us insight into his musical tastes, listening to "The Love Within", the first single from this new Hymns, is the predictable confirmation of what Bloc Party would have become today, in 2016.

It's true, they had already tried on Four and especially on Intimacy, but if before they seemed like timid experiments, here on Hymns we are facing a new band, which has totally reinvented itself, without a second thought.

Among those who already call them The Kele's back-up band, highlighting the predominance of the aforementioned singer's influences, the first impact with the music of Hymns is indeed a mixed sense of curiosity and initial disorientation.

There is no longer that energetic rhythmic section of the past, and it shows; particularly, it is Matt Tong's drums the absence of which makes this band barely recognizable. Although that instrumental rock aftertaste remains, in each of the new 11 tracks within Hymns, there is no trace of songs like "Like Eating Glass", "Banquet", or "The Prayer". Practically nothing remains of those Bloc Party, except for Okereke's now super recognizable voice and some melodic hints typical of his guitar playing. To all this is added an evident love for synthesizers, never so prominent as now.

Well, does all this make Hymns a terrible album, lacking in inspiration, to be avoided like the plague? No, I say this calmly.

If at first I was bewildered by these new Bloc Party, it is equally true that repeated listens have soothed my initial dismay, in favor of a growing appreciation for an album, probably a transition one, as is often said in these cases.

Hymns is pleasant to listen to, as much as it would be if it didn't have the Bloc Party name stamped on it and there wasn't a need to discuss all those previously addressed points.

Its sustained rhythms, far from the glory days of Silent Alarm, are evocative and highlight Kele's voice. Rhythms are as simple as they are catchy, and even when the sounds become slow, garish, or dance-like, there is no urge to press skip. On the contrary, I found myself pressing repeat several times for tracks like “Only He Can Heal Me”, “Virtue”, or “The Good News”, the quintessence of a minimal and enjoyable indie pop/rock,

Hymns is an ordinary work, perhaps inflated by the disappointed expectations of the majority (who might have preferred to see Bloc Party split up definitively), but a logical consequence of those who seek (or at least try) to renew themselves. It's the typical album that falls into that limbo where reside those records that cannot be masterpieces, but do not want to be total disasters, where it is only the listener who chooses whether to give it a chance or to intransigently stay away.

Greetings to Debaser readers!