Angular rock savants Bloc Party will release its fourth album and first full-length in four years, the aptly titled “Four,” on Aug. 21 through Frenchkiss Records.
The U.K. group announced the title and release date on Thursday morning (May 31) and released an “album trailer” that offers a preview of their latest effort.
Judging from the snippets of new music — including an intense track that may or may not be titled “AAH” — “Four” will represent a return to the tightened guitar rock of Bloc Party’s first two albums, after the band explored dance music on 2008’s “Intimacy.” The new album was produced by Alex Newport (The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In) and recorded in New York City.
Last fall, Bloc Party quelled rumors of a lineup change that would have replaced frontman Kele Okereke, who released a solo album, “Boxer,” in 2010, and was said to be too busy for the band. “A big part of me is laughing HARD at all of this but another part of me is all like WTF?” Okereke wrote in a blog entry last September, while the band posted an update on its official website titled “Bloc Party is still Bloc Party.”
Bloc Party will end its two-year absence from the stage this summer, when it kicks off a handful of tour dates on July 30 in Honolulu. Along with gigs at Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, the quartet will perform three straight nights at New York’s Terminal 5, from Aug. 7-9.