Now that the dust has settled on all the pomp & circumstance, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about the love jones I have for Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm. Mixing equal parts of The Cure, Joy Division, Blur, Gang Of Four, and the angular beats of Wire, Bloc Party have managed to perfectly capture their tense/anxious mood swings on tape. The album's opening track "Like Eating Glass" threatens to blow right out of your stereo...something that I hadn't been privy to since Radiohead's last release Hail To The Thief when my roof threatened to cave in from all "the rain drops. And the rain drops." If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're gonna have to go & figure it out on your own. What draws me to this album the most is the obvious sense of urgency coming from these guys. Almost like they felt they had to record this album quickly to capture exactly what was driving them at that particular moment. In any case, if you want a dose of something truly amazing, check out the tracks I have below. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Bloc Party: Like Eating Glass

Bloc Party: She's Hearing Voices

Bloc Party: This Modern Love

Bloc Party: The Blue Light

Bloc Party: The Price Of Gas

Bloc Party: Banquet


Watch Spoon's awful video for "I Turn My Camera On." Someone give these guys a decent budget already!

More ear candy for your listening (dis)pleasure:

Wire: 99.9 (live)

Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield: My Drug Buddy (live on KCRW)

Scritti Politti: Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)