Turns out it was no fluke. Back in November Bloc Party returned with a frenzied new single in “Traps” that provided a much-needed shot of adrenalized nostalgia — and landed on our Best of 2021 list. The British band hit once again today (January 28) with “The Girls Are Fighting,” a second round from their forthcoming new album that’s a sneaky sinister tune with arena rock ambition and enough low-end punch to sack the last remaining doubters.
Once more for the folx in the club: Bloc Party are back. “The Girls Are Fighting” will be featured on Alpha Games, due out April 29 via Infectious/BMG. It’s the band’s sixth studio album, and first since 2016’s Hymns.
Bloc Party have long been integral to the seemingly now-defunct indie dance party, and “The Girls Are Fighting” seems to take its roots from nightlife’s darker corners, shaped through a lens of a night out gone south.
“There was no specific incident that inspired this song — it was more a composite of lots of things I’ve seen over the years when being in clubs and seeing violence erupt with feuding love rivals,” says Kele Okereke. “I’ve always had a slight obsession with those sorts of moments; like a fuse being lit, when actions turn from words into violence. You can learn a lot about who people really are in those moments.”
He adds: “I think ‘The Girls Are Fighting’ is kind of self-explanatory – someone’s been selling dreams to someone they shouldn’t have and it’s caught up with them. I just wanted to capture that moment of going from naught to 10 in an evening, in a sweaty nightclub. I’m really pleased with the arrangement for this track because it has this 1970s glam rock feel meets Adam Ant feel. I love what Louise is doing on the tom toms.”
“The Girls Are Fighting” arrives with a video directed by Cameron Ward and produced by Luke Filz, filmed at East London’s Repton Boxing Club, the old Victorian Bath House where the infamous Ronald and Reginald Kray once trained. Get into it below.
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