Possibly the result of the many, and often completely opposite genres the band seems inclined to take, the album is a bit jarring in its flow; its slower songs are followed by songs intended to rock your socks off, leaving you to wonder what the hell just happened to your ears. But nonetheless, the album does work as a cohesive unit, though a confusing one. It stands as both a return to form and a completely experimental album at once. Perhaps as a result, or despite it, it is difficult to entirely dislike the album.
Overall, Intimacy is certainly a more immediately accessible album than A Weekend in the City, though it does lack the flow and conceptual feeling as an album. Its weaknesses generally lie in its production, which is heavier than a ton of bricks. But what is most upsetting about the album is its overwhelming mediocrity. None of the songs are bad, per se, yet neither are any of them outright amazing, or even incredibly memorable.
With every layer of dreamy production, in every soaring guitar or synthesizer you keep waiting for it to ignite your appetite, which Intimacy just seems incapable of doing. Bloc Party seems more interested in doing ten genres passably than doing a few incredibly, which is fundamentally where the album fails.
Intimacy may prove a more commercially successful album than its predecessors for Bloc Party, but it is unlikely to be the emotionally and personally challenging album they undoubtedly think they’ve created.
Article comments
1 - The Captain
Great review. I gave this album an "F" on my blog for the very same comments you have made.