Bloc Party’s brilliant debut album Silent Alarm celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, but the rebooted British rock band doesn’t seem interested in past achievements. On January 29, Bloc Party release new album Hymns, their first with an entirely new rhythm section — drummer Justin Harris and bassist Louise Bartle in for the departed Matt Tong (2013) and Gordon Moakes (2015), respectively.
Frontman Kele Okereke says that replacing 50 percent of the band’s lineup was essential for Bloc Party to survive and create this, their fifth studio record.
Via The Line Of Best Fit, Okereke comments: “We got to a point where the lineup had to change to allow us to go forward. It was clear at the end of 2013 that it just wasn’t working. If Matt and Gordon hadn’t left, we wouldn’t have carried on as Bloc Party. It’s the most awesome job in the world, being in a band, being able to create music and art and it affect people. It makes me feel sad that I felt back then that it was something I was going to walk away from. I never want to feel like that again… I realised that I want to do this. I want to travel the world and I want to enjoy it all. In my mind, I wanted to prove something.”
In addition to their United Kingdom tour, Bloc Party have a string of stateside dates coming up this year, including appearances at SXSW in March, Atlanta’s Shaky Knees in May, and June’s Governors Ball in New York City. Hopefully a club tour is in order later in the year.