CD Reviews

Bloc Party A Weekend In The City Vice Records/ 2007 ♥ 1/2	How does one follow up a breakthrough debut album? This was the question that faced the members of post-punk outfit Bloc Party coming off the immense success of their own debut, Silent Alarm. Unfortunately for fans of that record, the band has taken a major misstep with A Weekend In The City. In trying to transform their sound from one that is eclectic, catchy and fun to something more focused, earnest and anthemic, the band has lost the essence of what made listening to their debut so gratifying. With A Weekend In The City, Bloc Party’s front man Kele Okereke attempts to produce an emotional, artistic statement about his experiences living in contemporary “soul-sucking” London. Social and political commentary, however, are not Okereke’s forte. “Waiting for the 7.18” (“Grinding your teeth in the middle of the night/With the sadness of those molars”) and “Where Is Home?” (“I want to stamp on the face of every young policeman”) are so awkwardly written they border on cringe-worthy. “Hunting for Witches,” and “Uniform,” about fearing terrorism and conformity, respectively, are meanwhile completely toothless in their satire. Musically, the band also fails to deliver. The guitar work on the album is intricate at times, but the riffs are mind-numbingly similar. Also, attempts to add different sounds, like birds chirping, sound out of place. Thankfully wunderkind drummer Matt Tong and his elaborate, inventive rhythms add some excitement to the formulaic production. By trying to make important, timeless music, Bloc party has done the exact opposite. A Weekend In The City, devoid of any resonant moments, fails to make a connection with the audience, making it instantly disposable even as it begs to be taken seriously. Ajitpaul Mangat, volunteer staff
Fall Out Boy Infinity on High Island Records/ 2007 ♥♥	I’ll admit: Fall Out Boy’s new album Infinity on High has some catchy songs, a few of which might actually be decent to dance to, though this would require a complete and brave disregard for their trite, sappy lyrics. That is a large obstacle to overcome, as the lyrics are quite prominent and difficult to ignore. It’s difficult to enjoy a song that has lyrics such as: “and all the lovers with no time for me, and all the mothers raise their babies to stay away from me.” The only really interesting thing I noticed about the album is the title, Infinity on High. It is actually a reference to a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh, in which the sentence from which the title is taken says: “Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.” Not bad, Van Gogh. Fall Out Boy isn’t the worst band I’ve listened to, I’ll grant them that. They do, unfortunately, epitomize a genre that I have never come to respect. Pop-punk/emo bands have not generally managed to merit any form of respect outside of their fan base, which is made up primarily of teenagers. The whole genre focuses on selling an image to people and deliberately overshadowing the music itself. It is hard to differentiate between bands like Fall Out Boy or Panic! At the Disco because they sound so alike. It’s like having a Barbie collection: every single doll you buy is exactly the same, but with a different outfit and a different hairdo. You listen to one pop-punk/emo band, you’ve practically listened to them all. As for actual fans of Fall Out Boy, you might like this album because it gives you what you want: same doll, new hairdo. Timothy Brown, staff
Arcade Fire Neon Bible Merge/ 2007 ♥♥♥e&	While I’ve never proclaimed myself a fan of Arcade Fire, I’ve always enjoyed their music. There are some really good songs on their debut album, Funeral. The same can be said for their forthcoming album, Neon Bible. With 11 new songs, they’ve managed to capture the same haunting and beautiful sounds that gained the interest of much of the world. Arcade Fire, from Montreal, is one of the few really good Canadian acts that have gained immense popularity and have actually deserved it. Too many Canadian bands are thrust into popularity before they’re ready or deserving. You see bands like Billy Talent playing arena shows when they’re nothing better than a local bar band; bands like Nickelback who are hailed, appallingly, as the Canadian ambassadors of music. These bands, becoming so popular so quickly, have lost the ability to experiment with their music, and thus they continually reproduce the same songs with different titles. It’s nice to see a band such as Arcade Fire doing things a little differently. Their beautiful, haunting, quirky music lingers in the mind of the listener even after the music has stopped playing. They are, however, one of those bands that require a certain amount of attention when listening to, so it’s hard to fully appreciate a band like Arcade Fire when their music is played as background filler. Once the listener has pushed past that and really started listening to the music, they inevitably become hooked. There are definitely a few songs on Neon Bible that act as that magnet for your ears. Most notable are “Intervention” and “Windowsill,” two excellent songs that push the listener into a world created and defined by Arcade Fire. These aren’t, of course, the only good songs; the entire album is filled with quality music. While Funeral might have had some stronger songs, Neon Bible is definitely the stronger album. Timothy Brown, staff