Performer Notes

Four years passed between Bloc Party's third, largely electronic album Intimacy and its follow-up, the simply named Four. During that time, Kele Okereke pursued a solo career and bassist Gordon Moakes formed the side project Young Legionnaire -- in other words, the bandmembers had time to live their lives before returning to the fray, and it shows in how revitalized and vital Bloc Party sound on the album. Songs such as the lead single "Octopus" practically jump out of speakers with pent-up energy, recalling the angular thrust of the band's Silent Alarm era with an even poppier twist.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.82) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir guitar-heavy fourth record stews with palpable aggression."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.89) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'3x3' calls to mind The Deftones with its slippery descent into the alternative metal netherworld."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.95) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he chemistry is real. Okereke and Russell Lissack rekindle their relationship with furious guitar duels that approach the killer density of Queens Of The Stone Age or The Mars Volta..."