This album takes a lot of getting used to, but when you do, it is absolutely outstanding.
Ares opens with some drumming which at first seems a bit out of place, but it sounds good after a while. Mercury, the single which took a LOT of getting used to - I was sure that a great band like Bloc Party wouldn't have ruined their career with such a bad song - but when you get down to it it's a fantastic song. This entire album is full of surprises.
Halo brings us back to Silent Alarm, and in a very good way, the fantastic guitar riffs are - well, fantastic. Biko is a slow song which I make out to be about cancer. It's sad, but it works. Trojan Horse is the epitome of the new sound, but is generally good.
Signs is another beautiful track which separates the two halves of the album. It gives you goosebumps at one point... Anyway, the seventh track is pure Bloc Party brilliance. One Month Off is raw, anthemic and even features a key change! (Rare for Bloc Party) It's amazing how Matt Tong can keep drumming through this entire song without a break.
Zephyrus, whilst a good song, is the worst on the album. Firstly, what's a Zephyrus? Secondly, it doesn't sound like Bloc Party entirely, but still attaches onto the album. I would have preferred it if they'd swapped this for Flux (the best Bloc Party song of all time).
Then we come to Talons, the second single. It took no getting used to - it was immediately brilliant. Better Than Heaven is the calm before the storm, and is quite sad and beautiful in its own little way. The storm I was referring to is Ion Square, one of the best closers of all time. A seven minute epic which is classic Bloc Party build-up, bringing in one instrument at a time until you have a mess of music which sounds so wonderful, and the great chorus "I carry your heart here with me..." makes this album finish in style.
SCORE: 10/10
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