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Track List
01) Song for Clay (Disappear Here)
02) Hunting for Witches
03) Waiting for the 7.18
04) The Prayer
05) Uniform
06) On
07) Where Is Home?
08) Kreuzberg
09) I Still Remember
10) Flux
11) Sunday
12) SRXT
01) Song for Clay (Disappear Here)
02) Hunting for Witches
03) Waiting for the 7.18
04) The Prayer
05) Uniform
06) On
07) Where Is Home?
08) Kreuzberg
09) I Still Remember
10) Flux
11) Sunday
12) SRXT
4:49
3:31
4:17
3:45
5:32
4:46
4:54
5:27
4:23
3:37
4:59
4:51
Data Complete
90%
Total Rating
90%Total Rating
(2 users)
Back Cover
CD Art
3D Case
3D Thumb
3D Flat
3D Face
3D Spine
First Released
2007
Rock
Quirky
Rock/Pop
---
Medium
Album
1,000,000 copies
Album Description
Available in:
A Weekend in the City is the second studio album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded at Grouse Lodge Studios in Westmeath, Ireland, in mid-2006 and was produced by Jacknife Lee. The record was refined and mixed at several locations in London at the end of 2006. It was released on 24 January 2007 in Japan and in the first week of February in the rest of the world, with Wichita Recordings as the primary label. The record peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and on the Irish Albums Chart. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 12.
Bloc Party's goal was to craft an album that distanced them from the conventional guitar band set-up by incorporating more electronically processed beats and additional instrumentation. Computer programs were extensively used to enrich and amend recorded takes, while a string sextet was hired to perform on some of the tracks. Frontman and chief lyricist Kele Okereke created A Weekend in the City as an examination of life and leisure in modern cities by drawing ideas from issues such as drug abuse, sexuality, and terrorism. The album's three original singles, "The Prayer", "I Still Remember", and "Hunting for Witches", exemplify these themes respectively.
Bloc Party's new musical directions and more forthright lyrics either impressed or alienated critics. Reviewers generally treated A Weekend in the City as an important stepping stone for the band members in their quest for musical maturity, while The Guardian included it in its list of the "1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die". In November 2007, the record was re-released globally-with the final single, "Flux", as a bonus track-to coincide with Bloc Party's extensive touring schedule.
User Album Review
Produced by Jacknife Lee, A Weekend In The City sees Bloc Party attempt to translate an honest assessment of the beats of metropolitan modern life – drink, sex, drugs and violence – into a digestible record. Much of what made the band’s 2005 debut Silent Alarm so successful is still there but the content is darker and the impact less immediate. This is a tough one to call.
“Song For Clay” verges on being the perfect opener, easily bridging the gap between the two albums with a typically rousing chorus. Momentum established, it is then carried with aplomb by “Hunting For Witches” and the exhilarating first single “The Prayer”, which has every ebb and flow in the right place at the right time. Okereke’s masterplan to use upbeat tempos to transmit downbeat content works and is utterly engaging. Wait a minute, it’s only February and the album of the year gongs are being dished out without hesitation...or so you think.
Six tracks in and A Weekend In The City starts to fray at the edges. Close inspection of the lyrics show flaws and the music mood dips, giving the difficult subject matter too much time to dominate proceedings. “On” – a song about cocaine - and “I Still Remember” will deservedly garner
praise, but are in danger of being lost in the record’s slower-paced second half, and the nauseating “Sunday” is a timely reminder to hover over the back button with intent.
The intensity of the album and its lyrics will be cause for debate. Some will appreciate Kele’s openness and revel in his philosophical focus on modern lives, and the way people are wasting theirs, others will be too distracted by questionable content such as ‘East London is a vampire/It sucks the joy right out of me,’and lines about sudoku to take Okereke’s grumbles into consideration. Disillusion and disdain resonate frequently, and it does becomes draining.
But wait, isn’t it a grower? Yes, in every sense, but not always to its advantage. A Weekend In The City is a tale of two halves. The strong start to the album continues to amass appeal with each listen whilst the weaker latter stages become more and more stranded.
This sophomore effort has enough merits to eek away from the looming shadow of Silent Alarm and signal a new era for Bloc Party. However, their defining album it isn’t and the moments of early brilliance are tinged with disappointment.
External Album Reviews
None...
User Comments
Available in:
A Weekend in the City is the second studio album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded at Grouse Lodge Studios in Westmeath, Ireland, in mid-2006 and was produced by Jacknife Lee. The record was refined and mixed at several locations in London at the end of 2006. It was released on 24 January 2007 in Japan and in the first week of February in the rest of the world, with Wichita Recordings as the primary label. The record peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and on the Irish Albums Chart. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 12.
Bloc Party's goal was to craft an album that distanced them from the conventional guitar band set-up by incorporating more electronically processed beats and additional instrumentation. Computer programs were extensively used to enrich and amend recorded takes, while a string sextet was hired to perform on some of the tracks. Frontman and chief lyricist Kele Okereke created A Weekend in the City as an examination of life and leisure in modern cities by drawing ideas from issues such as drug abuse, sexuality, and terrorism. The album's three original singles, "The Prayer", "I Still Remember", and "Hunting for Witches", exemplify these themes respectively.
Bloc Party's new musical directions and more forthright lyrics either impressed or alienated critics. Reviewers generally treated A Weekend in the City as an important stepping stone for the band members in their quest for musical maturity, while The Guardian included it in its list of the "1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die". In November 2007, the record was re-released globally-with the final single, "Flux", as a bonus track-to coincide with Bloc Party's extensive touring schedule.
User Album Review
Produced by Jacknife Lee, A Weekend In The City sees Bloc Party attempt to translate an honest assessment of the beats of metropolitan modern life – drink, sex, drugs and violence – into a digestible record. Much of what made the band’s 2005 debut Silent Alarm so successful is still there but the content is darker and the impact less immediate. This is a tough one to call.
“Song For Clay” verges on being the perfect opener, easily bridging the gap between the two albums with a typically rousing chorus. Momentum established, it is then carried with aplomb by “Hunting For Witches” and the exhilarating first single “The Prayer”, which has every ebb and flow in the right place at the right time. Okereke’s masterplan to use upbeat tempos to transmit downbeat content works and is utterly engaging. Wait a minute, it’s only February and the album of the year gongs are being dished out without hesitation...or so you think.
Six tracks in and A Weekend In The City starts to fray at the edges. Close inspection of the lyrics show flaws and the music mood dips, giving the difficult subject matter too much time to dominate proceedings. “On” – a song about cocaine - and “I Still Remember” will deservedly garner
praise, but are in danger of being lost in the record’s slower-paced second half, and the nauseating “Sunday” is a timely reminder to hover over the back button with intent.
The intensity of the album and its lyrics will be cause for debate. Some will appreciate Kele’s openness and revel in his philosophical focus on modern lives, and the way people are wasting theirs, others will be too distracted by questionable content such as ‘East London is a vampire/It sucks the joy right out of me,’and lines about sudoku to take Okereke’s grumbles into consideration. Disillusion and disdain resonate frequently, and it does becomes draining.
But wait, isn’t it a grower? Yes, in every sense, but not always to its advantage. A Weekend In The City is a tale of two halves. The strong start to the album continues to amass appeal with each listen whilst the weaker latter stages become more and more stranded.
This sophomore effort has enough merits to eek away from the looming shadow of Silent Alarm and signal a new era for Bloc Party. However, their defining album it isn’t and the moments of early brilliance are tinged with disappointment.
External Album Reviews
None...
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