New disc let Bloc Party frontman dish on split

Whatever reputed breakdown occurred between Kele Okereke and his former significant other in late 2007, the singer-guitarist frontman for Bloc Party needed an outlet to vent his feelings on the matter.

“Translucent and sun bleached skin, when did you get so L.A./how can you desert me after all we’ve been through/Stuck on a dream that somewhere it’s better/You’ll be the one missing out,” Okereke sings on the electronica-meets-new wave One Month Off, from the British outfit’s third full-lengther, Intimacy.

“A lot of stuff went on in the past year with my personal life that really had a huge effect on me,” Okereke tells Metro, though tight-lipped on the details. “I didn’t want to try and think too much about what I was saying — I wanted to write from an emotional perspective … just get it out there and move on to the next thing.

“But in writing songs for this record, I want people to see this not only about a relationship breakup but also a celebration of a love — about falling in love and being in love. It doesn’t always have to be negative.”

Besides, there has been enough negative-leaning talk about Okereke — from British media speculation about his sexuality to a reported backstage dust-up between the 27-year-old and The Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten during a summer music festival in Spain — that it almost overshadows Bloc Party’s more significant changes of late.

First, Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong have ditched the traditional indie-rock stylings of their 2005 success story, Silent Alarm, and 2007 follow-up, A Weekend In The City. For Intimacy, Bloc Party veers into electronica-based territory and experimentation with Okereke’s vocals — though maintaining Tong’s fierce backbeats.

“In the 21st century, rock music should be taking more from electronica,” Okereke says. “I know many bands will tell you the best records have been made between the 1950s and the 1970s. But with all the new technology available, why not have rock music embrace something a bit newer?”

Second, the band has opted to follow what’s becoming a recent trend in the industry by releasing the new album digitally in August, two months ahead of this past Tuesday’s physical CD release.

“I remember being a 16-year-old and how it was such a big deal when I bought a record by a band I liked and everyone else bought the same record and we were all talking about that record at the same time,” Okereke says. “Now that we’ve built up an international fan base, why not just deliver a record to our fans at the same time, rather than have somebody leak out the record online long before it comes out?”