British alt-rockers BLOC PARTY release ‘Alpha Games’ their first studio album since 2016
Bloc Party also announce European tour dates on sale now
TORONTO, April 29, 2022 – Today, Bloc Party have shared their long-awaited sixth studio album Alpha Games via Infectious / BMG. Featuring the singles ‘Traps’, ‘The Girls Are Fighting’, ‘Sex Magik’ and ‘If We Get Caught’, three of which have featured on BBC 6Music’s A-List. Alpha Games is the first record the four-piece have made with their current line-up, and their first studio album since 2016’s Hymns.
To listen to Alpha Games is to go on a journey. From the sharp, visceral boldness of album opener ‘Day Drinker’ to the sleazy, glam rock feel of ‘The Girls Are Fighting’ to the bitter-tinged, melancholy album closer ‘The Peace Offering’, it’s hard not to feel as though you are being invited into a web of unsavoury characters, regretful moments, dark and sinister feelings, and actions.
Arriving on the heels of an intimate, one-off live show at The Garage, London, and a headline performance at 6Music Festival earlier this month, Alpha Games was a few years in the making.
The first seeds were sown during Bloc Party’s string of Silent Alarm shows back in 2018 and 2019. Bloc Party singer, songwriter and guitarist Kele Okereke says: “When we did the Silent Alarm tour, I had to listen to that record from start to finish. I haven’t really done that since it was made. I think that kind of energy we felt when we were performing those songs went some way into informing where we went next… That process definitely informed the music on some level.”
“These last few years have felt like a morally bankrupt time. It really felt like we were in an episode of House of Cards. That definitely bled into what I wanted to say. I feel like in all of the songs on this record there are people in extreme situations, making extreme choices; that’s what I wanted to capture. But what happens to our humanity when we prioritize success at all costs?”
Alpha Games is available on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as various limited edition coloured vinyl, including indies and high street exclusive red vinyl, and an official store exclusive black/red transparent vinyl. Bloc Party have also launched a competition to win two tickets to any headline show and a limited 7” vinyl with ‘Traps’ and ‘Callum Is a Snake’, plus a print designed and signed by the band.
Alpha Games Tracklisting
- 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
To celebrate the release of Alpha Games, Bloc Party will be touring the UK and Europe in May and June 2022, including a homecoming show at London’s Alexandra Palace. It will be their first tour since their huge 2019 shows, where they performed their seminal debut album Silent Alarm in full across the UK, Europe, and North America. Tickets for the tour are available now via http://gigst.rs/BPa.
Bloc Party 2022 UK/EU Tour Dates
Tuesday 10 May – La Salle Pleyel, Paris, France
Wednesday 11 May – L’Aéronef, Lille, France
Thursday 12 May – Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium
Saturday 14 May – Store Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sunday 15 May – Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
Monday 16 May – E-Werk, Cologne, Germany
Tuesday 17 May – TivoliVredenburg Ronda, Utrecht, Netherlands
Thursday 26 May – O2 Academy 1, Birmingham, UK
Friday 27 May – Rock City, Nottingham, UK
Saturday 28 May – Alexandra Palace, London, UK
Monday 30 May – O2 Academy, Bristol, UK
Tuesday 31 May – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
Thursday 2 June – O2 City Hall, Newcastle, UK
Friday 3 June – The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK
Saturday 4 June – O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
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