Bloc Party Announce 'Anatomy Of A Brief Romance,' Share "Coming On Strong"

Bloc Party have announced a new album, Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, and shared its second song, “Coming On Strong.” The track is built around Kele Okereke‘s line, “He shows me creep shots that he took of me before we’d even been introduced,” which lands over a tense bassline and clipped, electronic percussion.

Okereke says the record follows a relationship that began after he broke up with a partner of more than a decade and then met someone new. As the title suggests, the album traces that brief affair from beginning to end. On “Coming On Strong,” he says, “I like the fact that harmonically and musically it feels dark, sinister, like something is creeping up.”

Bloc Party are moving deeper into legacy-band territory at this point. Their debut Silent Alarm turned 20 last year, and a planned co-headlining run with Metric did not go ahead as originally expected. This year, the band will tour the UK with Interpol, and Anatomy Of A Brief Romance arrives after 2022’s Alpha Games. The album was recorded with Trevor Horn, the UK producer behind a long list of major hits in the 1980s and 1990s.

Okereke says the album is drawn directly from his own experience. In a press release, he said, “Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me. I had to tell the story, from start to finish.”

Tracklist

01 “22.01.22”
02 “Coming On Strong”
03 “Love Bombs”
04 “Pigwig”
05 “Lagoon Blue”
06 “Muscleworks”
07 “Clark Kent”
08 “Worst Birthday Ever”
09 “Not Your Problem”
10 “Now We Can’t Be Friends”
11 “Rotherhithe”
12 “Stories”
13 “Moving On”
14 “Eulogy”

Tour Dates

11/20 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena
11/21 – Cardiff, UK @ Utilita Arena
11/23 – Manchester, UK @ Aviva Studios
11/24 – Manchester, UK @ Aviva Studios
11/26 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Centre
11/27 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Centre
11/28 – Sheffield, UK @ Utilita Arena
11/30 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena
12/02 – December Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
12/04 – December London, UK @ Olympia
12/05 – December London, UK @ Olympia

Anatomy Of A Brief Romance is out 9/11 on cOnTAGIOUS LTD/Virgin.