Bloc Party - Four

Guardian“They plunge low every time the pace slackens...” On opening song So He Begins to Lie, Russell Lissack pummels his guitar as though it were a punching bag; 3x3 is pop-metal for the Twilight generation, with Okereke hissing over distorted riffs...

The Independent“Divided between the political and the personal...” Bloc Party’s touchstones remain firmly rooted in their indie upbringing: the staccato keyboard and ringing guitar of “Octopus” recalls early Blur, and “V.A.L.I.S.” is taken in the crisp artschool punk-pop style of Franz Ferdinand...

The Observer“The break did them good...” From the off there's an urgency – and an aggression – to their post-punk shapes that hadn't been evident since their bravura debut, Silent Alarm...

The Line of Best Fit“An all-guns-blazing return...” This isn’t Silent Alarm, no, but it’s got the same jolt of energy, the same melodic honesty and, crucially, the same calibre of songs. Best of all, it’s not Intimacy...

Pitchfork“Revisionist history isn't supposed to be a duller version of the real thing” Too often on Four, Okereke and Russell Lissack forgo serrated guitar hooks for blunt grunge riffing, and the rhythm section has become a wholly reactive entity, unable to push a song if and when the melodies fail...

Clash Music“Bloc Party are one-quarter metal...” It’s in these heavier rip-out-your-piercings tracks that the frontman’s stronger emotions are unveiled - and where a new Bloc Party prepare to emerge...

Drowned In Sound“The centre of the record is really very good indeed...” Considerably more consistent, and consistently enjoyable at that, than either of its predecessors - not since Silent Alarm have Bloc Party sustained such vision, ideas and indeed quality over an entire record...

BBC“Raw and energetic...” Bloc Party sound full of potential where just four years ago they sounded depleted. Indeed, Four may be 2012’s most exciting guitar album, and who would have predicted that...?