Bloc Party

Ambition. Corruption. Desire. Dysfunction. Dominance and submission. Getting what you want at all costs. Burning bridges. Cutting ties. Losing sight. Playing your cards. Sleight of hand. These are just a few of the themes and energies that simmer and burst throughout Alpha Games, the sixth record from British band Bloc Party.

After almost two decades, six albums, endless world tours and a variety of solo projects along the way, Bloc Party are a different band to the one which burst onto the indie scene in the early 2000s. It’s an evolution and growth that seeps into every corner of Alpha Games. “I don’t feel that I’d have been able to write songs like this earlier on in my career because all of the characters seem to revel in their dysfunction,” Kele says, “whereas I feel like in the past I would have tried to resolve everything or put a rosy tint on things. But I think it was important in this record to see all of the ugliness. To see what happens when you stop seeing other people as human.”