'Silent Alarm Remixed' is a unique collection of remixes and re-imaginings of tracks from the debut album by London art-rockers Bloc Party. Drawing on a wide ranges of artists from a variety of different genres, the album is proof positive that a remix album can sound as fresh and innovative as its source material. Contains remixes by Whitey ('Helicopter') and Fourtet ('So Here We Are').

Aug 2005

With the renaissance of the electro sound and its immersion into contemporary guitar band’s music, it comes as no surprise that Bloc Party’s ‘Silent Alarm’ is spectacularly given a wholehearted remix effort. From the stripped back gentleness of ‘Positive Tension’ by Jason Clark of Pretty Girls Make Graves, to the epically gloomy take on ‘Compliments’ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, to a typically quirky electro vibe on ‘Like Eating Glass’, courtesy of Ladytron, to the trash n roll version of ‘Luno’ by Death From Above 1979, ‘Silent Alarm: Remixed’ not only reflects the genre-defying ambitions of the music industry today, but also reexamines the solid concrete work of Bloc Party’s debut album.

• Spin (p.137) - "[A]dding some booty-shaking disco to the detached cool of ALARM's new-wave robot rock....Bliss inducing." - Grade: B+

Although most remix albums offer little more than vaguely tweaked novelty, Bloc Party's SILENT ALARM REMIXED transcends that trend with a stunningly diverse set of reworked tracks from the British group's much-lauded debut. Given the consistently high quality of the original songs, the guest artists--which include innovative electronica acts (M83, Four Tet) and like-minded post-punk peers (Engineers, Mogwai)--have a lot to work with here. Keeping SILENT ALARM's running order intact, REMIXED pushes frontman Kele Okereke's vocals up and down in the mix, while adding and subtracting keyboards, guitars, and beats, resulting in reinterpreted tracks that often sound remarkably different from their earlier counterparts. In fact, SILENT ALARM REMIXED is so well executed that it may win Bloc Party a new set of techno-inclined fans, and turn few Britpop aficionados in the direction of their record store's electronica section.

U.K. dance-rock outfit Bloc Party stormed both sides of the pond in 2005 with the release of its debut full-length SILENT ALARM. Mixing airtight dance-floor rhythms with smart guitar-driven melodies and a hipster aesthetic, Bloc Party set itself apart from an overcrowded field of often over-hyped British bands, and established itself as a force extending beyond the latest music industry headline.