In Other News . . . Bloc Party unveil new video for Ratchet

After announcing the release of a new E.P. entitled The Nextwave Sessions, Bloc Party unveil a video for lead single Ratchet. Although being played live on a number of dates up to five month ago the song received its first radio play by Zane Lowe as his Hottest Record in the World on 25^th June where singer and guitarist Kele Okereke confirmed reports of an indefinite hiatus, unfortunately for fans he adds that the band has “no plans as of yet” to follow their announced festival dates.

The video depicts a journey through the bands videos in reverse chronological order beginning with Octopus an ending with Little Thoughts with a slight detour through Helicopter. It also features moments where the band morph into monsters with augmented and replicated limbs with Kele's eyes being replaced by his eruptive mouth. This sort of camera trickery is familiar in director Cyriak Harris' other works who has made a name in the manipulation of creatures.

The song itself is an infectious dancey number and has more in common with Tenderoni, from Kele Okereke's solo effort, 2010's The Boxer, than the more electro influenced tracks of Mercury, Flux and One More Chance. The notable difference is the inclusion of Russell Lissack's guitar which features his often occurring pitch-shifting, this, combined with Gordan Moakes' bounciest bass-line to date, makes for a strong lead single.

The Nextwave Sessions were recorded with producer Dan Carey and will be released via Frenchkiss on August 12^th. Watch Ratchet via Youtube below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3EEaPj-5qs