!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good god, it has leaked. And fuck if it’s not every bit as amazing as I thought it would be, even if the leak is farrrrrrr from CD-quality (which it is). It’s so hard to process an album when every single song on it is simultaneously overwhelming you with its brilliance all at once.
UPDATE: Who the hell would have thought that my most anticipated albums of 2006 and 2007 would both leak within 24 hours of each other. Monday, November 13, 2006: A day that will live in infamy.
November 13th, 2006 at 10:13 am
Is that good or a bad news?
November 13th, 2006 at 10:15 am
im a little confused
November 13th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Ehrm, I’m guessing that Bloc Partys sophomore album has leaked, or something of that magnitude?
November 13th, 2006 at 11:20 am
brand new?
November 13th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
well… right now i think it kinda blows… all the stuff i liked about them is somehow gone… all the songs take ages to start and when they finally “there” they’re over. what happend to the dancy beats? don’t get me wrong: the guitar work is outsanding, the drums are pretty tight, the vocals/lyrics are beautiful… but the whole album is sooo laid back… i expected something different. something with more power. maybe the songs will grow on me in time but right now after about four spins i’m totally confused… it’s a bit of a let down…
November 13th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
hey r u talking about brand new, and if so please post a link
November 13th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Some I love some I think are growers. You say how everything is outstanding but it blows? but I agree yeah it’s less upbeat dance punk and more… I dunno something different. I loved Hunting for Witches and The Prayer as soon as I heard them. The Prayer sounds like Ciara or something crap like that but it works, only Bloc Party eh! Uniform and Waiting For…have both grown on me and I love them and I just know the rest will. On first listen it’s exactly as I expected. Sure, theres no power like Banquet or Helicopter but i think it acheives a different kind of power in it’s beauty and sheer musicianship.
November 13th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Haha, as soon as I got it last night I thought about this blog…
Only listened a couple of times but it seems pretty fantastic. In no position to compare it to anything yet, but yeah… really liking it. I Still Remember is fantastic, and they’ve done a good job with the songs we’ve already heard live. They seem to have even pulled Waiting for… out of the bag, I wasn’t that fussed by it live.
Only complaint is the lack of the “oh Oh OH OH! OH! OH!” on Uniform, which otherwise is probably my favourite track on first listening.
November 13th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
So far, so good. This band is fantasmagasmic.
November 13th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Next to GWFA, I am the next super fan of Bloc Party. Someone, PLEASE pass the link along. Go to my blog and get ahold of me - PLEASE!
http://thetestpilot.blogspot.com/
November 13th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
errrrr can someone post a link or a wee bit more information as to where this is all coming from………
November 13th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
yeah, anybody post a link, that woudl be greatly appreciated, nobody on the forums will help us out
November 13th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Hey, It’s all over the ‘net. Just go to Google, put in the appropriate words… And hey presto! Mine’s at 192k and given that it isn’t scheduled until Feb 2007, I’m very, very happy.
November 13th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
are you serious, what’s the appropriate words my friend? cause i[’m been searching for 3 hours now?help me or send a link please
November 13th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
like are you using a torrent though or what?
November 13th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
well can someone at least describe what ‘the prayer’ sounds like haha i cant seem to find this thing anywhere ive used all combinations in google of bloc party weekend, city, mp3, LP, download…..blah but no luck.
never mind. cheers anyway people : )
November 13th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Oh God, please post the link!
November 13th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
don’t download it.
that’s plain naughty.
:[
be patient.
i am, so should you be.
you rude people.
:[:[:[
think how gutted you would be if you spent so long making an album just to have it leaked.
especially in the same week as one of your best friends goes into hospital with a collapsed lung.
shame on you.
:[
November 13th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
my favs after first round:
song for clay
&
waiting for the 7.18
thumbs up, and thx for the hint that the leak is around! - the quality is much better than i expected, anyway, lets start the pre-order orgy!
November 13th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
you know wot, well said coxy……
November 13th, 2006 at 6:32 pm
and do it quickly before someone deletes my post or the link gets broken.
November 13th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
you know its true wot coxy says… but damn i wuldnt mind a little appetiser. I think song for Clay is artistically really good.. but doesnt quite go down so well with me, they said its not gona be like silent alarm so i have no clue why ppl have expected similar stuff.. BP is all about trying new things.. my bet is they will revert to songs a bit more silent alarmish on their following album.. please tell me it doesnt sound like u2! if it does im gona puke.. or snow patrol for that matter
November 13th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Man… this is a sad week for bloc party. Im actually sad the Cd has leaked to be honest and i really dnt wana dload it.. but its just too damn tempting to resist. uhhmm i found it! But i say that with mixed emotions… but im sure u’re all gna buy the CD anyways right… right ? South Africa’s no.1 BP fan
November 13th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I actually think Bloc Party sounds alot like early U2. The Present, in particular, uses almost the same riff as U2’s The Electric Co. and much of the atmospherics in Bloc Party’s music can easily be tied to U2’s The Unforgettable Fire album.
November 13th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Was it “A Weekend In the City”?
November 14th, 2006 at 12:18 am
it was actually leaked early on the 11th
now it seems to be all over
November 14th, 2006 at 1:12 am
what was the other one?
November 14th, 2006 at 1:43 am
i know, but everybody is holding their album they downloaded to themselves, it’s ridiculous, someobdy just help the pple out who didn’t get it in time…please
November 14th, 2006 at 1:50 am
I’m not so sure about A Weekend in The City yet…I like a couple of the tracks, especially on the first half of the album. I love how the album starts. But this is defintely not what I expected. I’m on my third listen…I think it’ll grow on me.
What’s the other album that leaked?
November 14th, 2006 at 2:36 am
whats the other album that leaked? brand new?
November 14th, 2006 at 8:36 am
omg… my dload has been stuck 99.5% for the last 3hrs.. i think this is fates way of telling me that its wrong to dloading the entire cd..
November 14th, 2006 at 9:22 am
nicky: yes
November 14th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Tried to get hold of you a while back to let you know this was leaked, but I guessed you’d have found out soon enough!
Waiting for the 7:18 is the stand out track for me at the moment.
The album seems incredibly top heavy though.
November 14th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Still no link then people?
November 14th, 2006 at 9:53 am
I was stuck on 85% for the longest, so I just went on bittorrent and got it downloaded within 15 minutes.
started listening to it, and was surprised as to how different it sounds from the last album. but then i fell asleep (hey it was at 12:30am). i’ll try to upload it later if anyone needs it.
but yeah, quality isnt great so i’m definitely getting it this january.
November 14th, 2006 at 10:16 am
the album still needs to through audio engineering
clearly evident with all the low bass portions
Can’t wait to get the album and all the B sides this Janurary
November 14th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
i think the other one was the new shins cd.
November 14th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
erm you all seem to have it now,
whats the link guys?
or what did you type in on google please, it wont hurt telling.
please x
November 14th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
brand new album is the other one.
November 14th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
I liked it but yeah it needs some mastering especially on the second song.
Never heard of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me though. The new deerhoof album also leaked that day
November 14th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
Alright this is getting to me, I’ve been lazily watching this post for the past two days hoping that someone would make it easy for me and just post a link. Buuuut, seeing as that isn’t happening any time soon, how do I go about getting these two albums? My google vernacular isn’t getting the job done (who knew I wasn’t god at these things?) so will someone just give me a hint? I’m seriously getting blue balls right now.
November 14th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
The new Bloc Party is just amazing. I love it. So much.
November 14th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
I’ve only made it through 2 songs so far and I am ready to send a blank check to Kele and co. Downloading now is not a substitute for buying later.
Obviously still a rough draft of what will be released but, me oh my, it’s excellent.
November 14th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
99.4% still!!!! damnit will this thing ever come down ?
Anyone kno wot the prob could be ? im using bittorrent and yes im still buying the CD
November 14th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
You guys are the shizzlit. Thanks RJ, pounds bro, pounds.
November 14th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
This is an awesome album, definitely different from silent alarm, but with each listen it gets better, i will definitely buy the album when it comes out.
November 14th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
omg.. i finally got it!!! commenting soon on the CD im SOOooooooooooo EXCITED!! cant wait thru hunting for witches.. and the prayer…. so far so bloody good!
November 14th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
whoa.. i really like a few of their tracks so far the ones that just stand out.. but im sure the other less noticeable ones will infact turn out to be my favourite tracks later on down the line.. as was the case with silent alarm. matt’s drumming immdediately come through so strongly.. im luving it, his skills are so intense. hmmm… the rest ill have to give a better listen to, im glad they went for something different i actually think it is quite ballsy to be honest..
November 14th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Guys, if its stuck at 99.4 or something, it means the torrent is finished. Trust me.
Bloc Party= fantastic. Kudos to diversifying their sound, it really makes their debut album pale and simpleminded in comparison.
November 14th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
hmmm.. im gna stick my neck out here a but i dnt like jack knife lee.. lol. I feel he taken and turned bloc party into something more ‘polished’ this can be both a good and a bad thing… that certain rawness has been taken away from them i feel.. you can compare it to a football strikers killer instict.. it has been tamed somewhat. I like the prayer, kreuzberg hunting for witches and song for clay tho..uniform is a bit of a dissapointment to be honest.. i was expecting more perhaps too much.. but to be honest if this were the 1st time i’d ever heard of bloc party i would’ve said they are ok quite good.. but not amazing! there are no songs that really wana make you hit the play button 40 times in a row ala banquet, pioneers.. or maybe thats just me
November 14th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
True.. finchmeister they have diversified their sound.. pale in comparison i wouldnt take it that far. uuhhh im hesistant to agree with you ’simple minded?’ what are you talkin about?!! . The songs are a lot more layered so yes in that sense it is a step up..
November 14th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
This album rocks the wait is over kids……
Like the 80s never happened….
People are so afraid to merge on the freeway…..
November 14th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
[…] Over at GoodWeatherForAirstrikes these quite some debate going on about this, and also a little bit of news about the new Deerhoof album also leaking - something I a little less excited by (but I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet). […]
November 15th, 2006 at 3:16 am
The new Bloc Party is nothing like Silent Alarm, but I’m pretty happy with it so far. As for the other leak, I think he’s talking about Brand New, because I got that one too, and it also sounds pretty good.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
Well most links are unfunctional right now, is like the fans repent for the anticipated leak.
You may find a functional link at diezauno, an spanish blog. And for Brand New at xxxemofreakxxx. I’m not posting links, go find them if you want. I downloaded, no regrets, not like is an easy thing to fing those Cd’s here in Venezuela. Buenas Lunas. -A:K
November 15th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
k.. its take a bit of time, but has dawned on me im up to really likeing 80% of the material.. 1 or 2 that im a bit iffy about.. i take back what i said about jackknife lee.. he is ok
November 15th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
i like it, although it gets pretty slow towards the end, i’m not in the mood for that right now, so it’s not their fault
i live in berlin, so of course i like the “kreuzberg” track a lot ^^
November 15th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
Assuming the other album you’re talking about is Brand New, then I think I should say that Limousine is my new favorite song of 2006.
November 15th, 2006 at 6:53 pm
Not Ashley:
Yeah, I sort of got carried away with that comment. Believe me, I have devoured, loved, and defended Silent Alarm for well over a year now. You must agree, however, that ‘Silent Alarm’ suddenly can be characterized as all sounding like ‘Old Bloc Party’. ‘A Weekend In The City’ nearly plays like each song is from a different band, expanding (to put it lightly) on themes and sounds explored in their debut.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Hmmm.. once again i kinda agree with you finch, uuhh i wouldnt like to say ‘old’ different yes. I dont want to be one of those people who are blinded by my love for the band and therefore have only good things to say. I feel that silent alarm attracted attention and allowed the band to gain a following. therefore bloc party can express different ideas now in that people will generally give them a chance with a few songs that are slow to grow on you… cause they know bloc party is an amazing band. I think they’re also trying to concciously trying to distance themselves from the punk rock label. Im taking nicely to ‘Sunday’ i like it a lot.. Weekend in the city is lot more of subtle sound and that same time bigger. I’d like Russel to come through a bit stronger.. but ya overall the album is really good still growing on me..
November 16th, 2006 at 12:41 am
This album has got to be incredibly dull and boring. I loved Silent Alarm tracks like This Modern Love and So Here We Are and nothing on this album comes close to those songs. I was aware that Bloc Party was moving towards a new direction musically, which was started by songs like Two More Years. I liked Two More Years and I thought it would be a good direction, man was I wrong! All the song on Weekend in the City start off slow and then jump into A Price of Gasoline/Skeleton type beat. The lyrics are atrocious when understood literally and I don’t even want to understand the symbolic message behind lyrics like:
“Tell me a joke
Make it long
Make it last
Make it cruel
Just make me laugh.”
I hope this album is simply Bloc Party’s sophomore slump, at least I pray it is. Come some random weekend in February 2007 I’ll be staying as far away from the city as humanly possible.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:02 am
let me guess donny.. u’ve listened to the album once. To be honest 1st time round nothing spectacular. You have to be in the right mood.. the great thing about silent alarm was that was basically a song(s) for every mood, but give this one time.. itll grow on you, but ya it does not grab you like silent alarm does
November 16th, 2006 at 11:05 am
I have been listening to it over the past couple days, and i have found i can’t seem to get the songs out of my head. They are all very unique and each has its own style, the only thing i don’t like is what they did to “uniform” but still i am not sure if this is the final mixes for the album. Two songs that stand out to me are “The Prayer” and “Hunting Witches”. These songs both have heavy bass and drums and in my opionon right now are two of the best songs on the album. However this will probably change after more listens. I also am really enjoying “Waiting for the 7.18″ either way it seems to me like Bloc Party is still going strong.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:03 pm
This just in: THIS IS NOT THE FINAL MASTER OF THE ALBUM. Yes, these are all finished, studio versions of the songs, but they have not been through the final mastering process. I absolutely LOVE the album, but was definitely worried about the way it sounded at parts - there are some definite volume issues and low bass portions throughout the album so it’s good to hear that these will be taken care of.
Just wanted to pass along the good news, it’s great to hear all your feedback - odd that my shortest post ever has generated more comments than anything I’ve posted in months.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Hi guys, I had “The Prayer” up for about 15 hours before Vice dropped me a line asking to take it down because the band is uncomfortable with a “non-album version” leaking. Understandable. I asked them to send anything they wanted to leak, my way!
November 16th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Thank you that is not the final verion.. in that case they need to change ‘uniform’ completely… its a song that doesnt kno what it is like a person who is not sure if they’re a girl or boy. In attempting to do the whole subtle light approach and then it takes off.. they just fcked it up to put it bluntly.. in my opinion the drums dont go with the track, could they please solve that.dnt get me started on the ‘oh oh oh oh’ it is pathetic.. they should get kele to yelp that bit instead trying to be all ‘artistic’ i wana see some rawness please… Also could they remove ‘I still remember’ and change SRXT or remove it lol.. k im targeting all the slow tracks, but im sorry SRXT it is terrible compared to compliments.. compliments is genius its not ive got something against slow tracks i like sunday and kreuzberg. mmmmm waiting for 7.18 could do with a bit of extra somethin.. hopefully that gets soughted oh well im looking for at least a 20% improvement
November 16th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
This is a textbook example of an album that grows on you. At first glance, this album is all somber pace and brooding lyrics. Tracks that initially stuck out for me were ‘Song for Clay’, ‘The Prayer’, and ‘Sunday’ (Me too Not Ashley!). As ‘Two More Years’ grew into one of my favorite songs of ‘06, I’m sure that around the third listen, this album will really catapult. There is a definite learning curve, and that’s a great thing.
Not Ashley: Agreed, once again. The ironic thing is that Russell is coming in strong, its just that he guitars are so fantastically distorted that its sometimes ambiguous as to what is being sampled and what is Russell. I haven’t seen this much distortion since Nine Inch Nails’ ‘With Teeth’ (Once again, a great thing, if done right). I’m sure this will all be more clearly defined on the master record.
Anybody else notice the progression between the Song For Clay demo and nearly-finished versions? It speaks wonders to the process of production- the clear evolving is really marvelous.
November 16th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
hey finch looks like we are striking up a bit of a dialogue here.. i think its pretty cool actually hehe. Ya i noticed the immediate improvement in song for clay i actually thought the demo was average.. More bad things to note unfortunately and an observation or two. Firstly i think almost all their tracks fail to keep listeners attention. Prime example being hunting for witches and song for clay, yes it is granted that he is changing the tempo or mood in the song or whatever, i feel they could of executed this a bit better.. for instance in hunting for witches.. the track is amazing although it fails to deliver consitant. brilliance.. the ‘ordinary man…..’ bit.. hmm not feeling it hey it lets the team down so to speak. Also in song for clay there some ‘flat’ bits if i can use that term i.e not holding the listeners attention. In terms of consistency throughout the songs i would have to go for The prayer and kreuzberg.. Sunday misses out narrowly. hmm about sunday the lyrics are really sweat and nice.. but i dnt kno tulips and hero still does it for me… i guess they deal with the issue of love differently in that there is a greater sense of longing in those two songs whereas sunday.. its like it has been found and is now being cherished. So ja soz cant relate to the latter, hence less appeal. oh ya and about it being top heavy.. The albums name is weekend in the city so i think the track order is meant to mirror a weekend…. starts off with partying.. ‘Song For Clay’ other more energetic tracks etc.. at the end its time for recovery and reflection, hmm.. Sunday is spent hung over.. ‘track 10′ and SRXT is track 11 - the beginning of a new week.. haha antidepressants needed. Kele did say the album largely deals with the not so great lives of his friends who have now left uni and are apart of the bigger world.. oh well thats enough for now..
November 17th, 2006 at 6:20 am
why did they change song for clay so much? The old version was better I think.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:03 am
I liked Machine alot. In ways Im happy they took the new direction but sad to see machine die. Maybe a B side hopefully?
November 17th, 2006 at 9:40 am
John, “Machine” is not dead. It lives on in the form of “Where Is Home?”. The lyrics are COMPLETELY different (that “people are afraid to merge on the freeway” refrain was transferred to “Song For Clay” instead), but the melody and the instrumentation remains basically identical.
November 17th, 2006 at 11:14 am
yeah, i was happy to see the ‘machine’ stay with us somehow
November 17th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
“SRXT” isn’t a new week, it’s about suicide…
I’ve left more detailed thoughts at alwaysnewdepths but briefly:
“Song For Clay” - awesome but preferred old lyrics
“Hunting For Witches” - Kele needs to be angrier; start is amazing
“Waiting…” - too cutesy, overproduced at beginning, chorus BRILLIANT
“The Prayer” - pretty good but I want it MORE crunky!
“Uniform” - completely ruined
“On” - excellent, esp. strings
“Where Is Home?” - one of the best and def. a grower
“Kreuzberg” - fantastic, don’t rate ending though
“I Still Remember” - has almost made me cry multiple times; SO SO SO GOOD; best on album
“Sunday” - weak lyrically
“SRXT” - beauty
November 17th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Who else thinks the leak was on purpose? They’re getting some great early feedback from this blog alone. Handy market research etc
November 17th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
well it was thought that silent alarm was also leaked by them as well but they never confirmed that they did.
November 18th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
update to the offical bloc party site. I’m assuming thats the new album cover?
November 20th, 2006 at 1:11 am
Not Ashley:
My sentiments exactly- certain songs simply refuse to turn upbeat. At times in the second half of the album, I sort of wished Kele and Russell would belt out some dance rock, even though they sort of explicitly said that music like Banquet wouldn’t be returning. I really think Hunting for Witches (the intro had me completely confused the first time I listened) and Waiting for the 7.18 are smashing successes in most respects. I would point to Waiting for the 7.18 as a prime example of how a Bloc Party song can be slow, heartfelt and meaningful, while really keeping the audiences’ attention.
I can’t imagine how some of these songs, like the ones you mentioned as too downbeat, will be live without turning into a bore. Some of these songs really shouldn’t be in their live show.
And after listening to the Song For Clay Demo 25x, it was hard for me to really notice the flaws in the song when all I could notice were the changes.
Wait. Actually, the old lyrics (DEFINITELY for the intro) were far, far superior for Song For Clay. I can’t believe they messed the lyrics up so damn much. It was kind of disheartening.