A Weekend in the City

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共14首歌曲

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艺人: Bloc Party
语种: 英语
厂牌: Wichita
发行时间: 2007年02月05日
专辑类别: 录音室专辑

专辑介绍

★空降全英专辑榜No.2、首支单曲“The Prayer”强占英国单曲榜No. 4、新版加收空降英国单曲榜No.8最新劲曲”Flux”

★NME 8分、AMG四星好评

继全球销售突破百万并登上NME年终榜冠军的首张专辑「Silent Alarm」后，Bloc Party以更丰富的编曲层次和多元议题探讨，打破「困难的第二张」魔咒，2007年开春以第二张专辑「A Weekend in The City」攻上全英专辑榜亚军，并获NME 8分、Pitchfork 7.5分、AMG四星好评，证明了他们不仅仅是一组随Post -Punk风潮而起的media-hype！来自英国Brighton的Bloc Party虽顶著「新Franz Ferdinand」响亮头名号出道一炮而红，但这组以奈及利亚裔黑人主唱Kele Okereke为首的组合，却自诩为介于Prince与Shellac之间的乐队，用Kele Okereke令人迷醉的魅力嗓音、Russell Lissack极具破坏力的冷冽华丽吉他音色、Gordon Moakes厚实的Bass声线以及Matt Tong速度感十足的爆炸性鼓击，将80年代至今的流行音乐文化编入音符之中，多元的音乐基因和千变万化的编曲风貌，让风迷全球的跳舞庞克在其打理下脱胎换骨，一脚踩进Art Rock领域，轻鬆从众多Post-Punk团队中脱颖而出！

相较于「Silent Alarm」畅快直率的青春火力，Bloc Party邀来U2、Snow Patrol製作人Jacknife Lee操刀的第二张专辑「A Weekend in The City」，透过Kele Okereke的观察诠释21世纪令人沮丧而寂寞的都会风景，将虚无的伦敦夜生活、次世代青年文化、英国黑人移民生活、2005年伦敦爆炸案到同志议题纳入音乐中，选择以更个人化的题材和细緻的音乐形势，展现更成熟而知性的面貌。从出自德国女摄影师Rut Blees Luxemburg作品的专辑封面（The Streets的专辑「Original Pirate Material」封面，亦出自此人之手）所流露的都市疏离荒凉，其实便不难勾勒Bloc Party这次所欲呈现的音乐风景，开场曲“Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”更直接破题将伦敦比为吞噬所有快乐的吸血鬼（East London is a vampire that sucks the joy right out of me）！「A Weekend in The City」中除了英国榜No.4首支单曲“The Prayer”，描述伦敦爆炸案后保守主义再起的“Hunting For Witches”等延续「Silent Alarm」风格的典型Bloc Party劲歌外，由落寞寂寥转入崩坏速度感的“Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”，清脆琴音轻拂开场而坠入迷幻领域的“Waiting For the 7.18”，或美丽吉他音色导入全开庞克火力的“Uniform”等，都十足展现新作裡最让人倾心的戏剧感渐进式编曲；急迫鼓点如影随形的“On”以及探讨伦敦种族议题的“Where Is Home? ”，则展现Bloc Party两种迥异的庞克电气风华；后段“Kreuzberg”、“I Still Remember”、“Sunday”三曲夹带浓厚浓厚的英式摇滚气息，更蕴含直追U2等经典前辈的耀眼神采；而作为专辑结尾的慢板抒情曲“SRXT”，回应全作的失落抑鬱，在霓虹绚烂的深夜托出一到极至辉煌的孤独感，Kele Okereke的呢喃与落寞琴音才刚刚散去，我们已经开始引领期盼Bloc Party的下一步了！

From the post-post-punk of their early EPs to Silent Alarm's sprawl of sounds and ideas, Bloc Party has never shied away from reinventing their music. They continue to evolve on A Weekend in the City, an unashamedly ambitious, emotional album that builds on where they've been before but still feels like a departure. Silent Alarm's eclecticism was one of its biggest strengths; not knowing exactly which Bloc Party you were going to get from song to song — arty punks, unabashed romantics, or righteously angry rockers — made for thrilling listening. They make the earnest, anthemic sound that was on the fringes of Silent Alarm the heart of A Weekend in the City, and it works remarkably well. It helps that the band's feelings are as focused as the music is. A Weekend in the City revolves around Kele Okereke's thoughts on life in 21st century London; in his eyes, it's a few highs and moments of belonging, surrounded by a lot of loneliness and disappointment — not to mention racism, homophobia, and religious hypocrisy. On A Weekend in the City, Bloc Party is sadder, wiser, and more heart-on-sleeve than ever — almost embarrassingly so, especially when compared to their aloof post-punk influences. The album's opening salvo, "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)," immediately signals that vulnerable is the new brash: "I am trying to be heroic in an age of modernity," Okereke whispers, backed by tremulous keyboards and guitars. Even when the song unfolds into searing rock, it stays intimate and implosive. Okereke still sings like there's no time to waste, but his songwriting is tempered by experience. He's become a striking lyricist, conveying ambivalence and yearning in remarkably direct terms. Over "Waiting for the 7:18"'s wintry pizzicato strings and glockenspiel, he sings, "If I could do it again, I'd climb more trees/I'd pick and I'd eat more wild blackberries"; on "Kreuzberg," he sums up the hollowness that follows a string of one-night stands: "What is this love? Why can I never hold it? Did it really run out in those strangers' bedrooms?" The hopeful songs at the end of the album are just as eloquent, especially "I Still Remember," which wraps a complex attraction between two schoolboys in a sweet, almost singsong melody: "Every park bench screams your name/I kept your tie." Indeed, A Weekend in the City is often more remarkable for its emotional impact than its actual music, though Jacknife Lee's lush, layered production suits the album's scope (and just happens to be very radio-friendly as well). Many of the songs follow a predictable formula of hushed verses and big choruses, and while Matt Tong's drumming adds some bite to the album's slickness, the riffs throughout A Weekend in the City are distressingly similar to each other (although "Hunting for Witches"' depiction of thoughtless paranoia makes it a standout). A few tracks explore new sonic territory; not surprisingly, they're the ones that convey druggy escapism. "On"'s luminosity blurs the line between being high on drugs or a person, while "The Prayer" distills the ritualistic feel of dancing in a packed club with its massed vocals, heavy drums, and splattered guitars; later, "Where Is Home?" uses these sounds to express mournful anger instead of elation. Bloc Party fans who responded to their dark, angular art-pop might be disappointed, at least at first, with A Weekend in the City. This album isn't as brash or immediate as the band's earlier work, but its gradual move from alienation to connection and hope is just as bold as Silent Alarm, and possibly even more resonant.

A Weekend in the City

专辑介绍

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