Silent Alarm
- Bloc Party
- Band Name: Bloc Party
- Record Label: Atlantic / Wichita / V2
- Release Date: Mar 22, 2005
- Critic Score
- Most active
- Publication
- Most clicked
-
100Silent Alarm doesn't just maintain Bloc Party's post-dance-punk appeal, it blows the fucking lid off. [Apr 2005, p.100]
-
100There 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.
-
A post-punk mishmash of angular guitars, pulsating bass, and tricky time signatures. [8 Apr 2005, p.64]
-
'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]
-
90Sensitive 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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
90Unlike 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.
-
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.
-
89This 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.
-
86Hip-shakingly good. [#14, p.98]
-
85There is little doubt that Silent Alarm is stellar, worthy of the praise it has received.
-
83What sets Silent Alarm apart, however, is the presence of singer Kele Okereke, who has a dazzlingly elastic voice like the Cure's Robert Smith.