Alpha Games

Last updated

Alpha Games
Alpha Games Cover.jpg
Studio album by
Bloc Party
Released29 April 2022
Genre
Length39:38
Label
Producer
Bloc Party chronology
Hymns
(2016)		Alpha Games
(2022)
Singles from Alpha Games
  1. "Traps"
    Released: 23 November 2021
  2. "The Girls Are Fighting"
    Released: 26 January 2022
  3. "Sex Magik"
    Released: 25 February 2022
  4. "If We Get Caught"
    Released: 24 March 2022

Alpha Games is the sixth studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party, released on 29 April 2022. It is the first studio album by the band since 2016's Hymns . It is notably the first album with drummer Louise Bartle, who joined the band after drum sessions for Hymns had been completed, [3] and the first to feature significant songwriting input from Bartle and bassist Justin Harris with Hymns having been mostly written by lead singer Kele Okereke and guitarist Russell Lissack. [4] This was Harris' last album with the band before departing in 2023.

Contents

Background and recording

Bloc Party released its last studio album, Hymns , in 2016. [5] On 22 January 2020, lead singer Kele Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album in the previous few weeks. [6] On 23 November 2021, they officially announced the album and they released the first single "Traps" the same day. [5] Speaking about "Traps", Okereke said: "From the moment we wrote 'Traps', we knew it had to be the first thing people heard from this album; playing it in soundchecks on our last tour before it was finished and hearing how it sounded in those big rooms and outdoors." [7] The album was released on 29 April 2022. [5] Alpha Games was produced by Nick Launay and Adam Greenspan and released under the record label Infectious Music/BMG Rights Management. [7] [8] A second single "The Girls Are Fighting" was released on 26 January 2022 and its music video was released on 28 January. [9] On 25 February 2022, the third single "Sex Magik" was released. [10] A fourth single "If We Get Caught" was released on 24 March 2022. [11]

The band toured the UK and Europe in May 2022 in support of the album. [5] On 29 July, Bloc Party released a deluxe edition entitled Alpha Games (Deluxe) which featured three new songs: "Acting Out", "The Robot and the Psychonaut", and "Strut". [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 65/100 [13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The A.V. Club C+ [14]
Clash 8/10 [15]
MusicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Pitchfork 5.2/10 [2]
PopMatters 8/10 [17]
Spin (favorable) [18]
The Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]

Alpha Games was met with generally favorable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 65, based on 11 reviews. [13]

In a positive review for Clash , Laviea Thomas wrote that the album was "an exciting return with addictive hooks and array of infectious album stand outs". [15] PopMatters ' Peter Piatkowski, similarly, called the album "a superb return to form" in his review, adding: "So many of Alpha Games' fiery numbers make the record an exciting listen, but the thoughtful, pensive moments lift the album to something genuinely special." [17] More mixed reviews came from Pitchfork and The Telegraph . Writing for the former, Patrick Lyons criticised the band for their lack of imagination: "A devoted fan with a magnifying glass could identify every trick Alpha Games lifts from Silent Alarm ," he wrote. Lyons did, however, praise the drumming and vocal work of Bartle, describing her contributions as "a new trick in Bloc Party's repertoire" and responsible for "the album's best hooks". [2] Writing for the latter, meanwhile, Neil McCormick noted that the band sounded "strangely ambivalent" on the album, adding that they seemed "trapped between the visceral thrill of lean, modern guitar music and their doubts about its form and function". [19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Justin Harris, Kele Okereke, Russell Lissack and Louise Bartle

Alpha Games track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Day Drinker"3:13
2."Traps"2:54
3."You Should Know the Truth"3:01
4."Callum Is a Snake"1:59
5."Rough Justice"3:13
6."The Girls Are Fighting"3:55
7."Of Things Yet to Come"4:03
8."Sex Magik"3:26
9."By Any Means Necessary"2:49
10."In Situ"2:55
11."If We Get Caught"3:14
12."The Peace Offering"4:51
Total length:39:38
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Acting Out"2:47
14."The Robot and the Psychonaut"4:05
15."Strut"3:25
Total length:49:57

Personnel

Bloc Party

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Alpha Games
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [20] 91
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [21] 39
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC) [23] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] 41
UK Albums (OCC) [25] 7
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [26] 2
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [27] 57

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloc Party</span> English indie rock band

Bloc Party are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack. They are joined in the band's current iteration by Louise Bartle and Harry Deacon. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kele Okereke</span> English singer and guitarist

Rowland Kelechukwu "Kele" Okereke, also known mononymously as Kele, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Party. Additionally, he has released six studio albums as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Moakes</span> Musical artist

Gordon Peter Moakes is an English musician, best known as the bassist of rock band Young Legionnaire and former member of indie rock band Bloc Party.

<i>Silent Alarm</i> 2005 studio album by Bloc Party

Silent Alarm is the debut studio album by English rock band Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with Paul Epworth as producer, it was released on 2 February 2005, by Wichita Recordings. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 114 and the Billboard Independent Albums at number seven. “Helicopter”, the double A-side "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", "Banquet" and "The Pioneers" were released as singles. Silent Alarm went on to achieve worldwide sales of over one million copies.

<i>A Weekend in the City</i> 2007 studio album by Bloc Party

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 album 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 album 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banquet (song)</span> 2004 song by Bloc Party

"Banquet" is a song from British band Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm. Originally released on a double A-side single along with "Staying Fat" in May 2004 by Moshi Moshi Records, it was re-released as a regular single in the United Kingdom by Wichita Recordings on 25 April 2005. It was their first single to chart on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks where it came in at number 34, and is often credited as their breakthrough single in North America. It was also featured in the song "Bloc Party" on the Fort Minor Mixtape: We Major. It was ranked No. 31 in NME's top 100 tracks of the decade, and was number 54 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time. It peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2011, NME placed it at number 20 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song was featured in the 2018/19 video game Life Is Strange 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two More Years</span> 2005 single by Bloc Party

"Two More Years" is a single by Bloc Party. It reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart, making it the second of the band's top ten hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flux (Bloc Party song)</span> 2007 single by Bloc Party

"Flux" is a song by English rock band Bloc Party. It was released as a single on 12 November 2007 and produced by Jacknife Lee, along with several other new songs, during the band's week in the studio after their performances at the Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals. The song uses mostly electronic instruments and features vocalist Kele Okereke's voice manipulated through Auto-Tune. It was first performed live on 26 September 2007 at Covington's Madison Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloc Party discography</span>

The discography of Bloc Party, a British indie rock band, consists of six studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), and two remix albums released on primary label Wichita Recordings. Bloc Party were formed in 1999 by chief songwriter and frontman Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack. Bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong joined the band later. The first song by them that we know of is called "This Is Not A Competition" although it hasn't been officially released, it was the first song the band put on their official website. The quartet's first release was the Bloc Party EP in 2004; the first single, "She's Hearing Voices", was released and it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The next EP, Little Thoughts was released the same year only in Japan; it included Bloc Party's first UK Top 40 entry, the double A-side "Little Thoughts/Tulips", which peaked at number 38.

<i>Intimacy</i> (Bloc Party album) 2008 Bloc Party album

Intimacy is the third studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in two weeks at several locations in London and Kent during 2008 and was produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth. The band members made the album available for purchase on their website as a digital download on 21 August 2008. Minimal promotion was undertaken in the UK. The record was released in compact disc form on 24 October 2008, with Wichita Recordings as the primary label. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and entered the Billboard 200 in the United States at number 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One More Chance (Bloc Party song)</span> 2009 single by Bloc Party

"One More Chance" is a 2009 single by British band Bloc Party. It was released on 10 August 2009.

<i>The Boxer</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Kele

The Boxer is the debut solo album by Kele Okereke, the lead singer of British indie rock band Bloc Party. Okereke released the album under the professional name of Kele on 21 June 2010. As promotion, he uploaded the songs "Rise" and "Walk Tall" to his personal website on 13 May. The first single from The Boxer was "Tenderoni", released on 14 June, and the second, "Everything You Wanted", on 16 August. The album's third single "On the Lam" was released on 25 October.

<i>The Hunter</i> (EP) 2011 EP by Kele

The Hunter is the first EP by Kele Okereke, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 7 November 2011 by Wichita Recordings in the UK, set back a week from the original release date, and 3 days earlier on 4 November 2011 by Wichita Recordings and Liberator Music in Australia. The first single released from the EP was "What Did I Do?", which features guest vocals from Lucy Taylor. The music video was released on 13 September 2011, with the song released as a digital single in Japan 10 days later.

<i>Four</i> (Bloc Party album) 2012 studio album by Bloc Party

Four is the fourth studio album by British rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in late 2011 and early 2012 at Stratosphere Sound, New York City, with producer Alex Newport. Newport also produced Wreckonomics—the EP of bassist Gordon Moakes' side project, Young Legionnaire. It was released on 20 August 2012 on independent label Frenchkiss Records, and was made available to stream the week preceding its release. The album peaked at number 3 in the UK Albums Chart, and at number 36 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. It is the last album featuring the original line-up with Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octopus (Bloc Party song)</span> 2012 single by Bloc Party

"Octopus" is a song by the British indie rock band Bloc Party, released as the lead single from the band's fourth album Four on 11 July 2012.

<i>Trick</i> (Kele Okereke album) 2014 studio album by Kele

Trick is the second solo album by Kele Okereke, the lead singer of British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 13 October 2014 through Lilac Records. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 99.

"Truth" is a song by the British indie rock band Bloc Party, released as the third single from the band's fourth album Four on 25 February 2013.

<i>Hymns</i> (Bloc Party album) 2016 studio album by Bloc Party

Hymns is the fifth studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released worldwide in January 2016 on BMG. The album was recorded between March and August 2015 at Lynchmob Studios in London, following a hiatus during which Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes departed the band. It is the first album to feature new band member Justin Harris on bass and keyboards. The songs "The Love Within", "The Good News", and "Virtue" were released as singles.

<i>Fatherland</i> (album) 2017 folk album by Kele Okereke

Fatherland is the third solo album by Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke. The album was released on 6 October 2017 and was his first solo album released under his full name instead of the professional name of Kele. It also produced by the band's bassist Justin Harris.

<i>The Waves Pt. 1</i> 2021 studio album by Kele

The Waves Pt. 1 is the fifth studio album by English musician Kele Okereke. It was released on 28 May 2021 through Kola Records. Upon release, it received positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Phares, Heather. "Alpha Games - Bloc Party | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lyons, Patrick (6 May 2022). "Bloc Party: Alpha Games Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Gerard, Chris (4 February 2016). "Bloc Party: Hymns". PopMatters. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Niesen, Ben (19 May 2022). ""Jaws Underneath Your Feet": A Conversation with Bloc Party's Kele Okereke". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Krol, Charlotte (23 November 2021). "Bloc Party return with new song 'Traps' and announce sixth album 'Alpha Games'". NME . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. ↑ Moore, Sam (22 January 2020). "Kele Okereke postpones UK solo tour to finish new Bloc Party album". NME . Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  7. 1 2 Gomez, Jade (23 November 2021). "Bloc Party Announce Alpha Games, Share New Single "Traps"". Paste . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Marisa (23 November 2021). "Bloc Party Announce Alpha Games, Share 'Traps'". Spin . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  9. ↑ Zemler, Emily (28 January 2022). "Bloc Party Recount a Bad Night Out in 'The Girls are Fighting'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Zemler, Emily (25 February 2022). "Bloc Party Get Nostalgic on Pulsating New Single 'Sex Magik'". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "Bloc Party Share New Track 'If We Get Caught'". DIY. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Bloc Party release Alpha Games (Deluxe) via Infectious". Music-News.com. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Alpha Games by Bloc Party". Metacritic . Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Freedman, Max (28 April 2022). "Bloc Party attempts a revival on the uneven Alpha Games". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  15. 1 2 Thomas, Laviea (28 April 2022). "Bloc Party - Alpha Games". Clash . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Murphy, John (28 April 2022). "Bloc Party – Alpha Games". MusicOMH . Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  17. 1 2 Piatkowski, Peter (29 April 2022). "Bloc Party: Alpha Games (Album Review)". PopMatters . Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  18. ↑ McDuffie, Candace (28 April 2022). "Bloc Party Relishes In Their Signature Sound On Alpha Games". Spin . Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  19. 1 2 McCormick, Neil (29 April 2022). "Willie Nelson at the peak of his powers, Bloc Party attempt a comeback – the week's best albums". The Telegraph . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bloc Party – Alpha Games" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bloc Party – Alpha Games" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bloc Party – Alpha Games" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bloc Party – Alpha Games". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  25. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  26. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  27. ↑ "{{{artist}}} Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.