![Bloc Party are back and, despite having far too many great songs to mention, we've pulled out some of our favourites. Here are their 13 greatest tracks - ranked in order of greatness]()
Bloc Party are back and, despite having far too many great songs to mention, we've pulled out some of our favourites. Here are their 13 greatest tracks - ranked in order of greatness
![18. 'Octopus': Our first taste of reunion album, Four, 'Octopus' reassured fans that Bloc Party still had a knack for a towering chorus - and they had effortlessly updated their sound for the musical landscape they had been absent from for so long, with real muscle.]()
18. 'Octopus': Our first taste of reunion album, Four, 'Octopus' reassured fans that Bloc Party still had a knack for a towering chorus - and they had effortlessly updated their sound for the musical landscape they had been absent from for so long, with real muscle.
![17. 'Flux': Most notable for marking the band's most dramatic departure in sound, it only found its way to our ears as a standalone single and, unsurprisingly, it gained Bloc Party plenty more fans. Driven by whirring synths and an expansive guitar riff, it has always been a sweaty live prospect and absolute banger - the ultimate laser-fuelled rave moment.]()
17. 'Flux': Most notable for marking the band's most dramatic departure in sound, it only found its way to our ears as a standalone single and, unsurprisingly, it gained Bloc Party plenty more fans. Driven by whirring synths and an expansive guitar riff, it has always been a sweaty live prospect and absolute banger - the ultimate laser-fuelled rave moment.
![16. 'Ares': While not a single, 'Ares' features as the introduction to third album Intimacy - and it feels like a bruising punch to the jaw. As Kele Okereke howls]()
16. 'Ares': While not a single, 'Ares' features as the introduction to third album Intimacy - and it feels like a bruising punch to the jaw. As Kele Okereke howls "we dance to the sound of sirens", the track rattles brains and shatters eardrums.
![15. 'One More Chance': Despite Kele Okereke revealing that the band were heading for hiatus in 2009, 'One More Chance' arrived and it's a worthy addition to the Bloc Party back catalogue. Drenched in stomping piano keys and an irresistible choral refrain, it reassured us that they weren't done yet.]()
15. 'One More Chance': Despite Kele Okereke revealing that the band were heading for hiatus in 2009, 'One More Chance' arrived and it's a worthy addition to the Bloc Party back catalogue. Drenched in stomping piano keys and an irresistible choral refrain, it reassured us that they weren't done yet.
![14. 'She's Hearing Voices': Lifted from Silent Alarm, it marks the classic album's midpoint. Building gradually, it adopts a fairly routine chorus, before Russell Lissack's stabbing guitar licks are introduced and ignite a screeching solo that sends the track crashing to a halt. A fittingly paranoid and jarring soundtrack.]()
14. 'She's Hearing Voices': Lifted from Silent Alarm, it marks the classic album's midpoint. Building gradually, it adopts a fairly routine chorus, before Russell Lissack's stabbing guitar licks are introduced and ignite a screeching solo that sends the track crashing to a halt. A fittingly paranoid and jarring soundtrack.
![13. 'Ion Square': Despite appearing on Intimacy, 'Ion Square' finds Bloc Party returning to what they do best - delivering widescreen indie anthems that you never want to end. The repeated call of]()
13. 'Ion Square': Despite appearing on Intimacy, 'Ion Square' finds Bloc Party returning to what they do best - delivering widescreen indie anthems that you never want to end. The repeated call of "I carry your heart here with me / I carry it in my heart" is impossible to shake.
![12. 'Plans': If it opens softly, 'Plans' doesn't stay in that territory for very long. It progresses gradually, but ends how every great Bloc Party song often does - with a stirring guitar solo.]()
12. 'Plans': If it opens softly, 'Plans' doesn't stay in that territory for very long. It progresses gradually, but ends how every great Bloc Party song often does - with a stirring guitar solo.
![11. 'Kreuzberg': Adding effortlessly to the brilliance of A Weekend In The City, 'Kreuzberg' finds the band unveiling a more mature sound with devastating effect. An arresting, powerful listen.]()
11. 'Kreuzberg': Adding effortlessly to the brilliance of A Weekend In The City, 'Kreuzberg' finds the band unveiling a more mature sound with devastating effect. An arresting, powerful listen.
![10. 'Ratchet': Branded as]()
10. 'Ratchet': Branded as "a completely separate thing", 'Ratchet' certainly appears to be the sound of a different band - and it's all the better for it. Recorded in the aftermath of Four, it's bursting with chanted vocals and squelching synths and perhaps more suited to Kele Okereke's solo output. Still great fun though.
![9. 'Like Eating Glass': For those that bought the first album, this was your introduction to Bloc Party - and what a way for the band to make their bow. If you're not struck by the rousing chorus of]()
9. 'Like Eating Glass': For those that bought the first album, this was your introduction to Bloc Party - and what a way for the band to make their bow. If you're not struck by the rousing chorus of "like drinking poison, like eating glass", the turbo-charged immediacy of the track threatens to knock you off your feet.
![8. 'I Still Remember': Perhaps the point at which Kele Okereke's songwriting began to take on a more autobiographical feel, 'I Still Remember' is steeped in the band's unexpected flair for soaring balladry, setting them aside from their one dimensional contemporaries.]()
8. 'I Still Remember': Perhaps the point at which Kele Okereke's songwriting began to take on a more autobiographical feel, 'I Still Remember' is steeped in the band's unexpected flair for soaring balladry, setting them aside from their one dimensional contemporaries.
![7. 'The Pioneers': If only the energy of 'The Pioneers' could be bottled, as Bloc Party bristle with urgency and purpose that their contemporaries could only dream of. Silent Alarm has plenty of great tracks to choose from, but surely nothing can beat Kele's parting war cry of]()
7. 'The Pioneers': If only the energy of 'The Pioneers' could be bottled, as Bloc Party bristle with urgency and purpose that their contemporaries could only dream of. Silent Alarm has plenty of great tracks to choose from, but surely nothing can beat Kele's parting war cry of "we will not be the last".
![6. 'So Here We Are': Like plenty of Bloc Party's discography, 'So Here We Are' sounds like it was destined to soundtrack the most euphoric snapshots of your life, as its surging crescendo prompts us to punch the sky. Bloc Party would go on to pen many more, but not many would better this. Utter bliss. No one writes them like this any more.]()
6. 'So Here We Are': Like plenty of Bloc Party's discography, 'So Here We Are' sounds like it was destined to soundtrack the most euphoric snapshots of your life, as its surging crescendo prompts us to punch the sky. Bloc Party would go on to pen many more, but not many would better this. Utter bliss. No one writes them like this any more.
![5. 'Little Thoughts': An early double A-side with 'Tulips', 'Little Thoughts' should have made it onto Silent Alarm, but no matter - for some, it feels like a well-kept secret. For the rest of us, it's Bloc Party at their electrifying best. A cheeky little pop charmer.]()
5. 'Little Thoughts': An early double A-side with 'Tulips', 'Little Thoughts' should have made it onto Silent Alarm, but no matter - for some, it feels like a well-kept secret. For the rest of us, it's Bloc Party at their electrifying best. A cheeky little pop charmer.
![4. 'Waiting For The 7:18': Arguably Bloc Party's finest balancing act of delicacy and destructiveness, 'Waiting For The 7:18' is A Weekend In The City's strongest track, switching between twinkling synths and a volatile chorus in which Okereke reassures us]()
4. 'Waiting For The 7:18': Arguably Bloc Party's finest balancing act of delicacy and destructiveness, 'Waiting For The 7:18' is A Weekend In The City's strongest track, switching between twinkling synths and a volatile chorus in which Okereke reassures us "if I could do it again, I'd make more mistakes". An essential listen.
![3. 'Positive Tension': Is 'Positive Tension' unfairly overlooked? Perhaps, but that doesn't prevent us from being huge fans of its unhinged riffs and Kele's back and forth vocals, which have never sounded so undeniably cool. With the yell of]()
3. 'Positive Tension': Is 'Positive Tension' unfairly overlooked? Perhaps, but that doesn't prevent us from being huge fans of its unhinged riffs and Kele's back and forth vocals, which have never sounded so undeniably cool. With the yell of "something glorious is about to happen", we're hooked.
![2. 'Two More Years': Unlucky to miss out on the top spot, 'Two More Years' popped up on the re-release of Silent Alarm and sent the band crashing in at number seven in the charts. Deservedly so, because, for all its simplicity, this is Bloc Party at their most focused and remarkably assured. An underrated classic.]()
2. 'Two More Years': Unlucky to miss out on the top spot, 'Two More Years' popped up on the re-release of Silent Alarm and sent the band crashing in at number seven in the charts. Deservedly so, because, for all its simplicity, this is Bloc Party at their most focused and remarkably assured. An underrated classic.
![1. 'This Modern Love': If the brashness of 'Helicopter' and 'Banquet' dominated the radio waves, the tender and life-affirming 'This Modern Love' deserved equally as much attention. A perfect example of a song building gradually and expertly, lyrics like]()
1. 'This Modern Love': If the brashness of 'Helicopter' and 'Banquet' dominated the radio waves, the tender and life-affirming 'This Modern Love' deserved equally as much attention. A perfect example of a song building gradually and expertly, lyrics like "you told me you want to eat up my sadness" are notable for their brutality and cements Kele Okereke's role as a deft songwriter. For a band to pen a song like this on only their first album is remarkable and solidified Bloc Party as one of our most important guitar bands. They arrived a band fully-formed. We can't wait to see what comes next.