First Listen: Bloc Party – One More Chance

TRACK REVIEW: Bloc Party – One More Chance
words: Jamie Milton

So as I’m typing the buzz is rising about the new Bloc Party track. It’s due its first play on the Zane Lowe show and I’ve got the radio on, prepared for pretty much anything. The last two tracks that have bridged the gap between each album have been opinion-splitting, controversial even. ‘Two More Years’ was uninspired but likable, ‘Flux’ was a dance-floor filler that made some enter the clubs and some make a hasty exit.  Here comes ‘One More Chance’ which Zane has just described as another “floor-filler”.

“A bit of a laugh” is how Kele Okereke describes it.
It opens with a plain, exposed piano line that can be described in no other way but cheesy.  Fusing a careful blend of the dark edgy drama found on ‘Intimacy’ and the clubland look and feel of ‘Flux’, it focuses on elements of repetition in vocals but as many expected, it’s Bloc Party like we’ve never heard them before. In with the vibe and energy of the early noughties dance movement and entirely out with the display of musical skill from Russell Lissack and Matt Tong respectively, both reduced to small elements of a catchy pop song.
But you just get the sense that Okereke’s voice isn’t suited to this genre – it’s a gutsy move to enter the dance arena once more and its contribution is anything but mocking. It’s about time Bloc Party fans began to accept to abolition of the ‘Silent Alarm’ sound and faced the choice of either rejoicing in this new found movement or remaining quietly disappointed. The hook of the song is like nothing else so far this year, the chorus on the other hand is completely underwhelming. It’s an odd mix, a bit like the band’s catalogue overall.

mp3: Bloc Party – One More Chance (radio rip) [alt]

0 people like this post.

Like