Bloc Party announce their groundbreaking new album, Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, alongside releasing the first single, ‘Coming On Strong'.
Anatomy Of A Brief Romance is a record unlike any they have ever made before. Produced by the legendary Trevor Horn (Grace Jones, Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes To Hollywood), Anatomy Of A Brief Romance is a chronological portrait of an intoxicating love affair, from furtive first glances across the gym floor to the gut-wrenching heartbreak of a final farewell.
First single ‘Coming On Strong’ is the second track on the album, propelled by a thumping beat and woozy, looping guitar riff. “It’s that feeling of, I’ve had my eye on this person for a while, and then we’re finally in a situation where we can be something to each other. And that’s such a seductive feeling,” says frontman Kele Okereke.
Listen to ‘Coming On Strong’ on North London Forever.
The song captures this joy, this optimism, with an insistent forward motion and a vast capacity for happiness. “You’re not seeing their problems, and they’re not seeing your problems,” Kele adds. “You’re just shaping up and getting ready for this ride.” Yet the music suggests stormy weather to come, even as the sun is shining. “I like the fact that harmonically and musically, it feels dark, sinister, like something is creeping up.”
Anatomy Of A Brief Romance is the band’s seventh album, but there are many firsts here. These are, says frontman Kele Okereke, the most personal songs he has ever written: “Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me. I had to tell the story, from start to finish.” This is direct, candid and unsparing. He wanted to – he needed to – document all of it.
That period is laid out here in novelistic precision. Anatomy Of A Brief Romance is a memoir in 14 songs. It is a collection of intimate details and visceral emotions, in-jokes and vicious barbs, taking the listener on a wild and unpredictable journey through love and loss. It begins, and ends, in a state of heartbreak.
Bloc Party have built a lasting legacy on constant reinvention, shifting from sharp, hook-laden post-punk to bold, genre-blurring experimentation and back again since the early 2000s. Their 2005 debut Silent Alarm was a defining breakthrough, selling over a million copies worldwide, going platinum in the UK, hitting #3 on the UK Albums Chart, and earning Mercury Music Prize and Shortlist Music Prize nominations – while spawning a run of iconic singles.
The band return to the road this year to tour North America in July, before embarking on a co-headline tour of Europe and the UK with Interpol for a run of 18 dates across the UK and Europe. The tour begins in Copenhagen on November 10 at the Royal Arena, before heading through Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam, and reaching the UK on November 20 for a first show at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena. The run continues with dates in Cardiff, Sheffield, Dublin and Glasgow, alongside two nights in Manchester and Brighton, before culminating with two huge closing shows at London’s Olympia on December 4 and 5.
