Bloc Party: Four – review

Four begins with a false start: a stray thud on the drums and a snatch of studio tape in which Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke says, in a voice of surprise: "Oh, have you got that already?" It's a moment of cunning theatricality, introducing the reinvigorated Bloc Party as a live band – a band who don't pre-programme dance beats, but plug in and rock out. Sure enough, on opening song So He Begins to Lie, Russell Lissack pummels his guitar as though it were a punching bag; 3x3 is pop-metal for the Twilight generation, with Okereke hissing over distorted riffs; while Kettling eulogises the 2011 riots with a solo that spirals out of control. They hit a peak with Team A, a street brawl of limber bass and volatile guitar, but plunge a low every time the pace slackens. Real Talk is a melodramatic oddity seasoned with country twang; Day Four and Truth are more straightforward, tenderly sung but emotionally bland.