Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
70
AFI
65
Air
71
Alice In Chains
77
Amerie
70
Anjulie
85
The Antlers
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound
75
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
56
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
72
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Brendan Benson
72
The Big Pink
96
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
51
Black Mold
59
Amanda Blank
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
77
A.A. Bondy
73
The Bottle Rockets
63
Box Elders
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
87
Brother Ali
70
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
78
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
79
Califone
68
Mariah Carey
84
Brandi Carlile
73
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
69
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
84
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System
68
The Clean
84
The Clientele
71
Cobra Starship
85
Converge
71
Eric Copeland
80
Cymbals Eat Guitars
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
64
Desolation Wilderness
88
Destroyer
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
74
The Duke & The King
66
Bob Dylan
44
The Entrance Band
67
Esser
69
Fanfarlo
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
78
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
77
Fruit Bats
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
59
Gloriana
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
66
Hockey
69
Whitney Houston
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
73
Jessie James
74
Jamie T
83
Japandroids
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
69
Daniel Johnston
76
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
65
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
76
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
84
Miranda Lambert
72
Ledisi
75
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
76
Lightning Dust
73
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
73
Lyle Lovett
66
Lovvers
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
62
Maps
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
77
Malcolm Middleton
77
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
73
Modest Mouse
76
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
62
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie
78
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
78
Nirvana
97
Nirvana
72
Nisennenmondai
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
68
Nurses
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
73
Osso
81
Owen
76
Paramore
76
Pastels And Tenniscoats
51
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
66
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
63
Julian Plenti
66
Robert Pollard
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
80
Q-Tip
80
R.E.M.
89
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
75
The Raveonettes
76
Jay Reatard
82
Reigning Sound
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79
Russian Circles
69
Buffy Sainte-Marie
73
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
75
Sian Alice Group
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
69
Slaughterhouse
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
62
Mindy Smith
83
Solillaquists Of Sound
78
Soulsavers
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
58
Squarepusher
55
Steel Panther
73
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
65
Joss Stone
75
George Strait
83
Barbra Streisand
76
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78
The Swell Season
76
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
78
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
67
Third Eye Blind
68
Throw Me The Statue
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
71
The Twilight Sad
58
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
70
Various Artists
74
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
71
Kurt Vile
67
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
76
Rufus Wainwright
59
Weezer
80
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59
Andrew W.K.
71
Patrick Wolf
67
Wolfmother
84
The xx
70
YACHT
75
Yim Yames
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Silent Alarm
Universal acclaim
Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 160 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Atlantic / Wichita / V2
Release Date: 22 March 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
This multiculti London four-piece (making their full-length debut with 'Silent Alarm') has been heralded in seemingly every music magazine in the world as 2005's answer to Franz Ferdinand.
Also By This Artist: A Weekend In The City Intimacy
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Stylus Magazine
There are thirteen tracks here spread over 50 minutes, but not once does the quality or pace dip below thrilling. Every track is bursting with ideas and inspired moments.
Read Full Review >Urb
Silent Alarm doesn't just maintain Bloc Party's post-dance-punk appeal, it blows the fucking lid off. [Apr 2005, p.100]
Entertainment Weekly
A post-punk mishmash of angular guitars, pulsating bass, and tricky time signatures. [8 Apr 2005, p.64]
The Onion (A.V. Club)
It may fit neatly with the now-sound, but Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, feels more like a modern-day dance-punk standard-bearer than a second-stringer or also-ran.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Unlike so many of their Gang of Four-worshipping peers, Bloc Party are that rare band that can actually transcend their influences and press clippings, crushing the fervor surrounding their arrival in a hail of splintered guitars and sumptuous despondency.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
What is truly magical on Silent Alarm is how it astutely grafts the accoutrements of wiry post-punk austerity to pop hooks fortified with soulful melodic intent.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
'Silent Alarm' is no 'Franz Ferdinand'. In fact, listen to it with the words 'popular' and 'arty' in mind and its spirit is closer to the Manic Street Preachers' 'The Holy Bible'. [5 Feb 2005, p.49]
No Ripcord
Sensitive enough to charm you, yet with songs hard enough and strong enough to keep you from getting bored, Silent Alarm is already a strong contender for debut album of the year.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
Silent Alarm's not 100% filler-free - the forgettable 'So Here We Are' could have slipped out the back with little protest - but the autonomy, creativity and sheer, elastic beauty that spans this debut more than justifies the rapidly accelerating hype that Bloc Party are currently generating.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
This is a solid, intelligent album that a lot of people will love-- one that'll slot onto indie-crossover CD racks right beside the debuts from Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, and the Futureheads.
Read Full Review >Filter
Hip-shakingly good. [#14, p.98]
Lost At Sea
There is little doubt that Silent Alarm is stellar, worthy of the praise it has received.
Read Full Review >E! Online
What sets Silent Alarm apart, however, is the presence of singer Kele Okereke, who has a dazzlingly elastic voice like the Cure's Robert Smith.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Bloc Party borrow the soaring melodic guitar lines of Television and sinuous noodling of New Order and the Cure to add a lushness that makes these songs sonically beautiful as well as rhythmically aggressive.
Read Full Review >Trouser Press
Bloc Party may not have arrived first in the retro-'80’s sweepstakes, but this great album stakes their belated claim to it.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
Draws as much from Madness as Joy Division. [Apr/May 2005, p.131]
Playlouder
'Silent Alarm' is a brilliantly accomplished art rock record that immediately immerses you in a world of taut, late 80s post-punk, melodic indie. It rarely lets up.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
An arty, confident and exhilarating debut. It's everything pop music should be. [Mar 2005, p.94]
cokemachineglow
Removing the formulae and sensual stimuli from the Party leaves little that’s substantive or innovative. Even the most cursory of examinations would show the group to be an “it” band and not much else. However, Bloc Party’s absurdly good at being an “it” on Silent Alarm.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
"Silent Alarm" sometimes lapses into facelessness, but at its best it combines dynamic record-making and underlying passion with a rare focus. [10 Apr 2005]
Under The Radar
What's most surprising is not how audaciously full of formula the album is, but how compelling the album is despite its lack of surprises or innovation. [#9]
All Music Guide
Although it wouldn't hurt if there were more "party" (the celebratory kind, not the political one) in Silent Alarm, it's still a fine debut album with a lot of passion and polish; it's hard not to respect, if not fully embrace, the intensity and integrity of Bloc Party's music.
Read Full Review >Mojo
Ambitious in scope and abundantly stocked with viral melody, Silent Alarm is hugely impressive--flawed certainly... but nonetheless blessed with outbreaks of great flair. [Mar 2005, p.100]
Uncut
Silent Alarm's innovation, sense of urgency and sleek production are enough to comfortably elevate Bloc Party above the post-punk rabble. [Mar 2005, p.106]
PopMatters
Only briefly and intermittently does Silent Alarm play it safe (the unspectacular tracks "Plans", "Blue Light", and single "Banquet"), but its engaging flow is never derailed.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Bloc Party will almost certainly find success. Based on Silent Alarm, however, it won't be as innovators or firebrands, but as purveyors of familiar hooks, passionately delivered and smartly promoted.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
There's none of Franz Ferdinand's sexiness, funk or swagger here, nor an undeniable hit along the lines of Take Me Out.
Read Full Review >Blender
Occasional flashes of brilliance transcend the deja-vu pastiche. [Apr 2005, p.113]
Alternative Press
The results are hit-or-miss. [May 2005, p.132]
Dot Music
Many of the tracks (including "Positive Tension" and "This Modern Love") are so choppy and discontinuous as to give you the same nauseous feeling you get when you hear a Mars Volta record.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 160 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Andre I. gave it a10:
One of my favorite albums.
Robert S. gave it a9:
One of my favourite albums of all time. can never get bored of this.
Cassie D. gave it a10:
This is my favourite album ever. Although there are no songs that stand out particularly the album as a whole brims with so much energy. Those who rated it a zero probably look for cheap thrills in their music. This is an album for life.
Jeff M gave it a10:
Bloc Party is by far one of the best new and upcoming bands, and this album alone is one of the best albums in the past 20 years. Truly amazing.
Markus R gave it a10:
An excellent introduction to a band with new ideas, a new sound, and nothing to prove to anyone, but themselves with their music. An auditory adventure with insightful lyrics, backed by one of the best drummers in the independent genre. Check out some of the more overlooked tracks like "Plans" and "Luno," and get moved by "Pioneers" and "Helicopter."
jordan P gave it a10:
Personally I love Bloc Party and there songs are awesome. But I wouldn't recommend Bloc Party to everyone but I would recommend the song Like Eating Glass. My personal fav is Pioneers for its climatic ending.
L J gave it a0:
Very boring and forgettable.
