A Weekend in the City

All band members of Bloc Party conceived A Weekend in the City during 2005 while on tour in support of their critically acclaimed debut album Silent Alarm. Despite missing their home city of London, the quartet became increasingly disillusioned with the culture in the area each time they sporadically returned. Band member Gordon Moakes has noted, "The contrast we saw between being away on tour and being home ... we would see that London wasn't changing really and that the people we'd grown up with were part of that." Okereke wrote many songs in 2005 and early 2006 and used a concept he called "Urbanite Relaxation" to expand upon the themes of life and leisure in the metropolis. The band recorded around 30 soundchecks for the initial lyrics using a MiniDisc player. The rest of the tracks were written in April 2006 before they entered the studio recording process. The band members drew up a shortlist of possible producers in early 2006, which included dance music-oriented staff such as Chemical Brothers sound engineer Steve Dub and high-profile producers like Garret "Jacknife" Lee. At the time, Moakes told Rolling Stone that the album would hopefully include electronic, processed beats and a sound in the vein of alternative rock band Radiohead and indie rock ensemble TV on the Radio. Bloc Party wanted to expand their sonic palette without losing the musical "jerkiness" of Silent Alarm. They selected Lee—who had worked with world-renowned act U2 and indie rock band Snow Patrol—based on the rapport that developed between the two parties while recording the demo song "I Still Remember", which later appeared in A Weekend in the City. Before the studio sessions, Bloc Party listened to varied musical sources, from composers Philip Glass, György Ligeti, and Krzysztof Penderecki to urban artists Amerie and Missy Elliott. while relying on an atmosphere similar to neo-classical music. == Recording ==

In mid-2006, Bloc Party travelled to Lee's Grouse Lodge Studios in Westmeath, Ireland, to record A Weekend in the City. The production staff tried other unconventional effects once the basic tracks were recorded. The band sometimes performed while Tong's kit was re-amped and played sections live while a brick was placed on the sustain pedal of a piano to capture the vibrations during the performances. Lee recorded everything using Pro Tools and treated the parts as individual stereo files in Logic. The drum and guitar tracks were processed using computers. Much of the synthesiser-sounding parts of the album were generated by Russell Lissack's lead guitar following his extensive use of pedal effects. he has noted that he tried to "convey range and dynamics" rather than simply yelp the lyrics. == Promotion and release ==

Bloc Party confirmed a preliminary track list of 13 songs in August 2006; this included future bonus tracks "England" and "We Were Lovers". A low-quality rip of A Weekend in the City was leaked in November and showed a track list of 11 songs. Wichita Recordings did not comment, but the band members were quoted as being worried about a reduction in the potential impact of the album's content and sales. Bloc Party started a promotional tour of North America the same month with Panic! at the Disco, but cut it short after three concerts when Tong suffered a collapsed lung. The focus was changed to interviews throughout the world to explain the album's stylised lyrics and composition in the run-up to its release. A high-quality version was leaked in January 2007 and its contents were confirmed by Okereke. Bloc Party previewed A Weekend in the City in its entirety on 24 January 2007 at the Bournemouth Old Firestation, a performance which coincided with the Japanese release of the album. The band performed at a special BBC Radio 1 showcase at Maida Vale Studios on 30 January as a precursor to a February promotional tour of the UK. The album was released in the rest of the world in the first week of February. The cover art is part of A Modern Project by German photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg, famous for her night cityscapes of London and for the cover art of The Streets' Original Pirate Material. The photograph is an aerial image of London's Westway, which shows the road and the adjacent sports pitches lit by the sodium glow of street lamps, and was chosen because the band believed "it was important we captured London breathing". == Content ==

Lyrics Okereke's lyrics attempt to juxtapose the monotonous events—nights out on club dancefloors and waiting for a train—with the seemingly epic experiences—terrorist attacks and racial angst—witnessed in a city environment. BBC's Tom Young concluded, "Some will appreciate Kele's openness and revel in his philosophical focus on modern lives ... others will be too distracted by questionable content such as ... lines about sudoku to take Okereke's grumbles into consideration." The lyricist has noted, "I wanted it to be a snapshot, a frozen moment in time. Like in a city, with thousands of stories going on at once, layered on top of each other ... Although I might be speaking through the voice of a character, I'm still expressing, perhaps, my sentiments." (pictured). The words to "Where Is Home?" begin at the funeral of Christopher Alaneme, a black teenager stabbed to death in Kent in April 2006 in a racially motivated attack. Okereke has described him as a "cousin" due to their Nigerian mothers' close friendship. The track castigates right-wing newspapers for perpetuating a hysterical fear of black youths in hoodies, an action which often leads to opportunities being denied to the Black British community at large. The creation of compositions required a high level of technical proficiency and led to songs "tinged with discord". Moakes has called the compositions "lush, without being too syrupy". In A Weekend in the City, layered vocals are often used to resemble choral sections, for example in the middle of "The Prayer" and throughout "Uniform", which has over 100 stacked vocal tracks. "SRXT" is a chiming ballad directly inspired by Brian Eno's "By This River" and incorporates double-tracked lead and background vocals. Synthetic aspects—drum machines, synths, and computer glitches—were included as integral parts of compositions. "The Prayer" is built around a computer sample and includes MTV Base-inspired urban contemporary beats and a prominent guitar solo towards the end. "On" is also a computer-reworked live take. Half of the song was recorded as a series of loops of drum beats and bass guitar chords. The recorded take was split in two to make up the first and last quarters of the track, while the middle section was intentionally left blank for the band to improvise in. "On" is one of two songs, together with "Where Is Home?", to use a string sextet. The latter track includes erratic rhythms and clashing guitars. == Critical reception==

Media response to A Weekend in the City was mixed, but generally positive; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 65/100 based on 30 critical reviews. Louis Pattison of NME described the album as "tender and reflective, edgy and embittered; a difficult and emotional beast that jolts with nervous electricity" and pointed out that its notable achievement is that it finds moments of genuine contentment amidst "a maelstrom of anger and confusion". Allmusic's Heather Phares did not find the album as immediate as Bloc Party's earlier work, but noted that "its gradual move from alienation to connection and hope is just as bold as Silent Alarm, and possibly even more resonant". Drowned in Sound's Mike Diver called it "dirty, dishevelled, unsure and paranoid; fearful, easily distracted, boisterous and ashamed; reckless, wild, nervous and terrified; graceful, thought-provoking, clumsy and contradictory ... and very nearly perfect." Jeff Miller of the Chicago Tribune concluded, "For Bloc Party, Silent Alarm was a baby step and this is a giant leap." Michael Endelman of Entertainment Weekly was less receptive and stated, "Too often, the music on A Weekend in the City is less memorable than the ambitious subject matter." Robert Christgau, reviewing for Rolling Stone, suggested that the album fails because it lacks "killer choruses", while Sia Michel of The New York Times wrote that the multitracked vocals and baroque effects do not have "the wiry catchiness" of Bloc Party's previous work. Mike Schiller of PopMatters commented that the sonic direction the band had moved to was unsuited to the members' musical strengths, while Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian stated "grand statements are not earnest frontman Kele Okereke's forte...there's barely a song that isn't kneecapped by one of Okereke's lyrical clangers". The album was named by Los Angeles Times in its unnumbered shortlist of the best releases of 2007. It figured in several other end-of-year best album lists, notably, at number eight by Gigwise, at number nine by Hot Press, and at number ten by The A.V. Club. The Guardian included A Weekend in the City in its "1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die" list compiled in November 2007 and praised the band's "ambitious indie soundscapes packing a sizeable political punch". == Commercial performance==

A Weekend in the City was a commercial success and entered the UK Albums Chart, the Irish Albums Chart, and the Australian Albums Chart at number two. In the US, it sold 47,726 copies in its first week of release and entered the Billboard 200 at number twelve, a marked improvement on predecessor Silent Alarm which had only made number 114 when it was released in 2005. The album also topped the Billboard Top Independent Albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it had sold 148,000 copies in the US by August 2008. More than one million copies have been sold worldwide. The first single, "The Prayer", became Bloc Party's highest charting song on the UK Singles Chart and on the Irish Singles Chart to date by peaking at number four and number 18 respectively. The next single and the first US release from the album, "I Still Remember", entered the Hot Modern Rock Tracks at number 24 and became the band's highest charting US single to date. The third single, "Hunting for Witches", failed to chart in the US, but peaked at number 22 in the UK. == Tours and re-release ==

Bloc Party started a lengthy promotional world tour for A Weekend in the City in March 2007, which included concerts in Japan, the US—where they also headlined at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas—Canada, and Italy. A few UK performances in mid-April were followed by a month-long headlining tour with Biffy Clyro, which covered most of mainland Europe. Bloc Party spent the end of May and the start of June 2007 on another headlining tour of the US and were asked to play at Live Earth upon their return to London. Bloc Party embarked on their second major worldwide tour for the album in August 2007, playing across Australia, the US, Mexico, and Canada. Upon their return to Europe, the band performed at the BBC Electric Proms with the Exmoor Singers as backing chamber choir. The final single from A Weekend in the City, "Flux", was released on 12 November 2007 after the European Flux Tour; a promotional CD of remixes of the song was given out free with the 14 November issue of NME. The track gave Bloc Party another top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart by entering at number eight. == Track listing ==

Bonus tracks When present, all songs follow "SRXT" on the January/February 2007 release after a silent three-minute pregap. • "Secrets" (Canadian edition and Target version) – 4:06 • "The Once and Future King" (Canadian edition and Target version) – 3:20 • "England" (Japanese edition) – 4:15 • "We Were Lovers" (Japanese edition) – 4:12 • "Emma Kate's Accident" (Best Buy version) – 5:38 • "Version 2.0" (Best Buy version) – 3:19 • "Rhododendrons" (US eMusic download version) – 4:49 • "Atonement" (US iTunes download pre-order version) – 3:46 • "Cain Said to Abel" (US iTunes download version) – 3:24 • "Selfish Son" (Napster and Rhapsody download versions) – 4:59 Another B side, "Vision of Heaven" (3:32), was released as a promotional track exclusively at PureVolume. Additional formats Vinyl • Two LP versions of A Weekend in the City were released: a standard black vinyl copy in a gatefold sleeve and a limited edition picture disc version that has the album cover printed on Side A and the track listing printed on side B. DVD • In February 2007, a CD+DVD set contained in a red case was released in the UK and Europe simultaneously with the regular CD version of the album. The DVD contains footage of Bloc Party at Grouse Lodge and music videos for "The Prayer" and "I Still Remember". • An Australian edition of the CD with an extra DVD was released in July 2007. The DVD contains remixes of "Hunting for Witches", "Uniform", and "I Still Remember", and live footage of the band at a special Channel 4 showcase. • A new version of the CD+DVD was released in the UK and Europe in November 2007. This DVD contains live footage of the band at the 2007 Reading Festival and music videos for the album's four singles. == Personnel ==

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Weekend in the City. Bloc Party • Kele Okereke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar • Russell Lissack – lead guitar • Gordon Moakes – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, glockenspiel, electronic drums • Matt Tong – drums, drum machine, backing vocals Additional musicians • James Banbury – string arrangements, cello on "On", "Where Is Home?" • Alison Dodds – violin on "On", "Where Is Home?" • Vincent Greene – viola on "On", "Where Is Home?" • Jacknife Lee – keys; production; programming; additional engineering • Jeremy Morris – violin on "On", "Where Is Home?" • Liz Neumayer – backing vocals on "Waiting for the 7.18", "Where Is Home?", "SRXT" • Everton Nelson – violin on "On", "Where Is Home?" • Lucy Wilkins – violin on "On", "Where Is Home?" Technical personnel • Sam Bell – additional engineering; additional programming • Rut Blees Luxemburg – photography • Neil Comber – mixing assistant • Rob Crane – design • Tom McFall – engineering • Andrew Rigg – engineering assistant • Rowen Rossiter – engineering assistant • Cenzo Townsend – mixing == Release history ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Singles "—" denotes releases that did not chart."X" denotes song not released in a particular country. == Footnotes ==