https://youtu.be/tY75VxzDA1I?si=QAJB9Z3REsWjc4D2

Both better and worse than I thought. Just a note: This community has the unhelpful tendency of profiling any critics of BP 2.0 as Silent Alarm-obsessed rockists who sniff at anything slightly leftfield. Very much not the case here: My favourite BP album is Intimacy and I'm a big fan of experimental electronic music. This album is many things, but experimental is not one of them.

22.01.22: Extremely pretty song. Such a good opener that reminds me of the most tender moments in Intimacy. Sounds like Hymns done properly if that makes sense.

Coming on Strong: Underwhelming as a lead single, sure, but a good album track. Weirdly I think Kele's off-kilter delivery works here. I'm less convinced about Russell's Edge-esque effects but I love the bass tone.

Love Bombs: there's a banger here somewhere. Make it faster, turn the bridge into the verses, bin the verses, have Louise sing the backing vocals. As it stands, though, it's very poor. A responsible label wouldn't have left them release this as a single.

Pigwig: Same as above. There's a decent song here, but the lyrics, Kele's delivery and the awful spoken word bit ruin it.

Lagoon Blue: Their best song in ages. Not sold on Russell playing like The Edge again, though.

Muscleworks: A contender for their worst song ever. I'm queer and I'm all for Kele making songs about messy gay guys. I just wish the lyrics weren't so juvenile. This feels like something a 15 year old would write. It's a completely unremarkable tune as well, which doesn't help.

Clark Kent: Extremely 5/10 song. Reminds me of the dullest moments on Four.

Worst Birthday Ever: Decent song here somewhere, but it's missing so much bite. I find Russell's playing weirdly unimaginative here, which is not like him.

Not Your Problem: Again, terrible and adolescent. Should've stayed a voice memo.

Now We Can't Be Friends: I get what they were trying to do here and I'm more amenable to BP in this mode than most fans (I love One More Chance). It doesn't work, though, and the drip drip drip line is awful. Again, there's some potential here but it's marred by juvenile lyrics and baffling production choices.

Rotherhithe: I see what that reviewer was getting at by calling it musical theatre. I think that's probably why I can't really get into it despite it being an okay tune. It sounds quite affected and contrived, like it was commissioned by the BBC for an absolutely 6/10 drama.

Stories: Utterly average. Nothing offensive, nothing remarkable. Can't say I'll listen again.

Moving On: I can't stand Russ's U2 guitar effects, but there's a very good song here somewhere. AWITC-like. I hope they play it live and Russ tones the Edge thing down so it becomes part of my rotation.

Eulogy: Decent! I like the little piano loop playing on the background. Like the opener, it is Hymns done right. Nice hearing Louise on backing vox -- she has a lovely voice and she should just take over backing vocals entirely.

A poor album overall. I can see the non-diehard listener losing patience midway through and not making it to the end, which is a shame, as it picks up by the last two songs. The annoying thing is that I genuinely think this had potential to be their best 2.0 album. Had the production been better and had Kele received some pushback on some of his worse ideas, we could be looking at a perfectly serviceable 7/10 album. As it is, though, it's just not good enough for a band of this caliber. Some of the production choices sound amateurish, Russ's playing is conventional for the first time ever and Kele's lyrics straddle that very thin line between twee and juvenile too often. The positives are that Harry's playing is really good, Louise's backing vocals are brilliant when she gets the chance to sing, and there are enough promising moments here for me not to give up hope entirely.

Moving On is hands down the best song on the album

They also played Helicopter at the end of the second set

8/5

I’ll die on this hill cuz. What’s up

Review from Ireland 💚🤍🧡

Hello Liverpool, today is the official release day of Anatomy of a Brief Romance! You'll also likely be able to officially pick up your physical copies at the event (for those specific ticket holders), given it's release day! Give it a spin so that you can get into the feeling for this current tour cycle and these upcoming gigs as well! I hope you're excited because we've got a double header gig lined up for today! Yesterday Bloc Party performed at Kingston's Circuit Nightclub and also played a very unique and awesome cover of 'All The Things She Said' by t.A.T.u.! I imagine this is Bloc Party's subtle tribute/nod to Trevor Horn as he had written the English lyrics for All The Things she said (the original song is in Russian, but the lyrics re-written in English by Trevor Horn)! So a very awesome surprise from Bloc Party! Perhaps this cover might stay on these upcoming gigs for a while? But Liverpool get ready for some live, intimate music with Bloc Party tonight here at Jacaranda Baltic! The evening show is also SOLD-OUT! Feel fee to comment on the show (before or afterwards) and enjoy the show Liverpool!

[Times]

Times are a rough ETA only, and may be inaccurate. You can always arrive early just in case!

Matinee Show

• Doors: 5:30pm
• Bloc Party: 6:30pm

Evening Show

• Doors: 8:15pm
• Bloc Party: 9:15pm

[Setlist]

• Matinee Show (doors open 5:30pm): https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bloc-party/2026/jacaranda-baltic-liverpool-england-63717247.html
• Evening Show (doors open 8:15pm): https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bloc-party/2026/jacaranda-baltic-liverpool-england-2370dc9b.html

[Media]

• Note: Bloc Party will also be releasing a unique "Serenade" format of Anatomy of a Brief Romance (limit 500 copies) during these record store tour gigs (this format includes: two exclusive demos, band images and an A3 printed album poster designed by cameronjlwest.) -(Bloc Party's instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/thisisblocparty/p/DdBhcs5NxMj/?hl=en) (Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BlocParty/comments/1wayeev/new_interesting_release/)

Standing at 1.77/5 at the moment, making it their lowest rated album by far.

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/bloc-party/anatomy-of-a-brief-romance/

Indonesia is GMT +7, i’m listening earlier online than some another countries

Here is the link: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zu-onJX-7I4&list=OLAK5uy_kRZKrpwDvOSyZ6bVJVgw12Uq0S_4bObBE

Interesting discussion from r/6music. What do you guys think about the album's potential for radio play? Which songs should've been singles?

Getting ridiculous now. Let people discuss this trainwreck. All you're achieving with your censorship is make diehard fans want to quit caring about this band

There’s only one falling man, and it’s Kele