British indie darlings Bloc Party has announced the imminent release of their sixth studio album Alpha Games, which is set to drop on April 29, 2022. This will mark the band’s first studio release since 2016’s Hymns.
The first single from the album is the high-octane track ‘Traps’, which sees Bloc Party return to the sonic style that first put them on the map.
Speaking of the new single, Bloc Party singer, songwriter and guitarist Kele Okereke says: “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.”
We're so excited to share our new album Alpha Games with you all in April 2022! The first single TRAPS is out now. Thank you for waiting patiently, we've missed you and we can't wait to share everything we've been working on.https://t.co/euHTpUJh30 pic.twitter.com/C3FZdF55i7
— Bloc Party (@BlocParty) November 23, 2021
Fans will soon have the chance to hear how it sounds in big rooms and outdoors as the band also announced plans for an extensive UK and European tour. There’s no word yet on if the group will add Australia to their list but we are obviously keeping everything crossed that they do. The 2022 tour will be their first one since their huge 2019 shows, where they performed their seminal debut album Silent Alarm in full across the UK, Europe and North America.
Formed in 1999, but not settling on a name until 2003, Bloc Party consisted of Okereke, Russell Lissack, Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes. Their debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was instantly critically adored.
Silent Alarm was followed by 2007’s A Weekend in the City and then 2008’s Intimacy. Their next album, Four, was released in 2011, shortly after they returned from a hiatus. Tong and Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively and were replaced with Justin Harris and Louise Bartle.
The various members of the group also have their side projects, including Okereke’s five solo albums, the most recent of which — The Waves Pt. 1 — was released in May 2021.
Check out the tracklisting for Alpha Games below.
- Day Drinker
- Traps
- You Should Know the Truth
- Callum Is a Snake
- Rough Justice
- The Girls Are Fighting
- Of Things Yet to Come
- Sex Magik
- By Any Means Necessary
- In Situ
- If We Get Caught
- The Peace Offering
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