photo by Rachel Wright
Today’s song is “Virtue” by Block Party. This is the most recent track from the UK band. Bloc Party consists of Kele Okereke (vocals, guitar), Russell Lissack (guitar), Justin Harris (bass) and Louise Bartle (drums).
It premeired yesterday and is off their new album HYMNS, due for release on January 29th via Infectious Music / BMG / Vagrant Records.
HYMNS is a rebirth for Bloc Party. After 16 years as a band, countless world tours, awards, and four studio albums, Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack are taking it back to where it all began. As the title suggests, the fifth Bloc Party record is about faith and devotion, but it is not, Kele insists, a religious epiphany. “I grew up in a religious house so I’m fully aware of the imagery, but I’m not Christian. It’s not something I subscribe to.” Instead, the concept came to him after seeing the author Hanif Kureishi, whom Kele has admired since he was at school, talk at the Southbank Centre in London. The result is a record that sounds like a band growing and changing, pushing new sounds via new approaches, and resulting in a freer, less constricted Bloc Party.
The four piece have also been announced to play this year’s Governers Ball in New York in June as well as headlining the NME Awards Tour 2016. Full tour listing can be found below.
Watch below and for more information check out their official website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. Pre-order the album here.
TOUR LISTING
January 26 London, UK @ PIAS Nites
January 27 London, UK @ MTV Brand News
January 29 Cardiff, UK @ Great Hall*
January 30 Southhampton, UK @ O2 Guildhall
January 31 Kingston Upon Thames, UK @ The Hippodrome (Banquet Records)
February 1 Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy*
February 2 Nottingham, UK @ Rock City*
February 4 Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy*
February 5 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland*
February 6 Manchester, UK @ Academy*
February 8 Keeds, UK @ O2 Academy*
February 9 Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange*
February 11 Brixton, UK @ O2 Academy*
February 12 Birmingham, UK @ O1 Academy*
June 6 – 9 New York, NY @ Governors Ball Festival
*NME Awards Tour 2016 headline shows