Bloc Party - History of the Band and Future
Their success might have seemed sudden to some casual to some viewers, but Bloc Party has been making music together since 1999.
However, the band has been on hiatus since 2009.
Various members of the band have expressed that this break is so that they can pursue their own individual projects.
Lead guitarist Russell Lissack said that they album might start making music again in late 2010, but there has been no official announcement from the band.
Bloc Party began to form at the 1999 Reading Festival, when lead vocalist Kele Okereke and guitarist Russell Lissack were introduced with each other.
They discovered that they had very similar musical ideas, and began recruiting new band members and making music.
They didn't see any major success, however, until 2003, when they began to have a couple of their songs heard by some major figures in the music industry.
Their major breakthrough came when "She's Hearing Voices" was played on BBC radio.
They released their first album, Silent Alarm, in 2005, and it was an instant success.
The album received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the press.
It also sold very well, going platinum in UK despite its independent label status.
Silent Alarm is still hailed in many circles as their best album, and is still their best-selling effort.
Their next album, A Weekend in the City, was released in 2005, and saw similar success to the first album.
However, the reviews for the album were somewhat less positive, and the album didn't have the same kind of shock value that the first album did.
This was less due to any lack of quality than the bands artistic change of direction.
The album still sold very well, however, and was generally regarded as a success, as well as proof of the band's staying power.
Bloc Party has always been known for having very politicized and well-developed lyrics, and that trend continued on their second album.
Their third album, Intimacy, was released in 2008.
That album further re-established themselves as an independent rock band.
It again received generally positive reviews, but it didn't have the commercial success of their other two albums.
The album's release was rushed, and caught a lot of people by surprise on its release.
That didn't stop it from being well-received, but it prevented the promotion from achieving its maximum effectiveness.
Bloc Party still has a legion of fans, and it's very possible that we'll see them become a full-time band again.
However, lead singer Kele Okereke has hinted at the possibility that we won't see them as a band again.
Hopefully this isn't the case, as their first three albums have shown that they have a very unique artistic and musical vision.
In the meantime, both their lead singer and lead guitarist have other projects they're working on, so don't be surprised to see Bloc Party members still operating in the music scene.
However, the band has been on hiatus since 2009.
Various members of the band have expressed that this break is so that they can pursue their own individual projects.
Lead guitarist Russell Lissack said that they album might start making music again in late 2010, but there has been no official announcement from the band.
Bloc Party began to form at the 1999 Reading Festival, when lead vocalist Kele Okereke and guitarist Russell Lissack were introduced with each other.
They discovered that they had very similar musical ideas, and began recruiting new band members and making music.
They didn't see any major success, however, until 2003, when they began to have a couple of their songs heard by some major figures in the music industry.
Their major breakthrough came when "She's Hearing Voices" was played on BBC radio.
They released their first album, Silent Alarm, in 2005, and it was an instant success.
The album received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the press.
It also sold very well, going platinum in UK despite its independent label status.
Silent Alarm is still hailed in many circles as their best album, and is still their best-selling effort.
Their next album, A Weekend in the City, was released in 2005, and saw similar success to the first album.
However, the reviews for the album were somewhat less positive, and the album didn't have the same kind of shock value that the first album did.
This was less due to any lack of quality than the bands artistic change of direction.
The album still sold very well, however, and was generally regarded as a success, as well as proof of the band's staying power.
Bloc Party has always been known for having very politicized and well-developed lyrics, and that trend continued on their second album.
Their third album, Intimacy, was released in 2008.
That album further re-established themselves as an independent rock band.
It again received generally positive reviews, but it didn't have the commercial success of their other two albums.
The album's release was rushed, and caught a lot of people by surprise on its release.
That didn't stop it from being well-received, but it prevented the promotion from achieving its maximum effectiveness.
Bloc Party still has a legion of fans, and it's very possible that we'll see them become a full-time band again.
However, lead singer Kele Okereke has hinted at the possibility that we won't see them as a band again.
Hopefully this isn't the case, as their first three albums have shown that they have a very unique artistic and musical vision.
In the meantime, both their lead singer and lead guitarist have other projects they're working on, so don't be surprised to see Bloc Party members still operating in the music scene.
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