The Music Knights are always keen to hook up with our music buddies. On the last show it was Mungo Jerry, and this time we’d thought we’d review a single from a band, one of the members of which is a big fan of the show. Well, we say a big fan, he’s not (at all) – but he is infact ‘someone I went to school with’*, and now, together with his band Bloc Party, Matt Tong plays an integral part to the success of this British indie group, with their latest album looking to be one of their most successful yet.
Matt, you see, is the drummer – and a versatile drummer at that. With Silent Alarm being their most successful album to date, Matt’s percussion was the focus of their anthemic yet cacophonous output. With a couple of releases since then, Bloc Party have been experimental to say the least, with some drum ‘n’ bass, electronic, and almost industrial sounding tunes hitting the airwaves. For some fans, this was the “wrong” direction to go in, however similarly, there were those that loved the progression.
However, after a hiatus of a number of years, Kele Okereke and his band have romped back with a full-on rock record, and their track “Truth”, for me, simulates everything that is great about Bloc Party. Kicking off with a simple riff, together with Kele’s close and soft vocals, the track confidentally kicks into a bassy repeat after a minute or so – reaffirming the simplicity of the track, without resorting into doing some “weird shit” as they might once have done…
The whole point of “Truth” is just that. The words used are so simple yet powerful. Kele’s lyrics of “So I am yours now – respectfully, I am yours now – truthfully” are rather humble, yet they convey an element of pain – the kind of “I’ve been through a lot of crap to get to this point and you are the one I want” pain. It’s graceful, yet energetic, made more so by Gordon Moakes providing the customary “Bloc Party” echoing of the vocals.
The track comes into its own with the fantastic and the almost orgasmic melodies created on 01:50 where the vocals combine to create a sound which is not a million miles away from “Two More Years”, but is still authenticly unique. Later in the track, as if we didn’t already know that the tune was a love song, Kele purrs into a reflective “our kind is hard to find, and if it will be, it will be with you”. Basic and beautiful.
A very simple yet stunning track. Listen below.
* In the same way that I can also say I went to school with Christian Bale, Alex James from Blur, and Mark Austin off ITV News.
This post is written by Sam Davis. Sam has a passion for web development, the media and red wine. Amongst other genres, Sam is a big fan of Scottish rock, so much so that he once forced his way through a crowd, injuring people on the way, just to get the plectrum thrown by the lead singer of Glasvegas.
