Bloc Party’s new album is catchy in the worst possible way: strange, irritating and hard to shake for all the wrong reasons

Kele Okereke is less interested in letting us in than he is in just airing things out, and the experience is about as pleasant as that sounds

The story of the UK band’s seventh studio album is bound to conjure more eye-rolls than sympathy

Anatomy of a Brief Romance’s failings don’t make Okereke’s feelings any less valid, just as much as those feelings don’t afford him a pass for thinking there might be an audience for this turgid embarrassment of a record

Twenty-one years ago, the group opened its debut LP with a breakup song for the ages. Its latest comeback is a breakup record that may have even longtime fans eyeing the exit

The spark may not burn as brightly as it once did, but there is still enough fire here to remind us why we cared in the first place

Though Anatomy of a Brief Romance recounts a loss of love for Okereke, this feels like the first album since Four where the band have fully healed and become whole again. The desire for whoever this former partner was is well and truly spent, but the passion for Bloc Party 2.0 begins anew

That theatrical quality to the performances is likely to divide listeners, and while it works in places, it can occasionally distract from some of the more interesting musical elements

Anatomy Of A Brief Romance hasn’t enough hooks, lyrics of substance or dynamics to really recommend it beyond a couple of songs

Kele Okereke and co have made a concept album and a break-up album all at once – and with Trevor Horn on production duties

One of the band’s most engaging records since Silent Alarm is also the most personal LP of Kele Okereke’s career

It's intriguing to hear the usually buttoned-up Okereke get so detailed, and Horn's sleek production finds the right mood throughout. Print edition only

The album dissects a doomed affair with all the intimacy and oversharing that entails

It may not be among their finest work, but ‘Anatomy Of A Brief Romance’ is surely a cathartic release for its composer and for listeners who see their own experiences reflected in it

An energetic and engaging set that splits the stylistic difference between the electronic leanings of 2016's Hymns and the spiker post-punk of 2022's Alpha Games. Print edition only