After a six year gap between 2016’s Hymns and 2022’s Alpha Games, indie punk band Bloc Party seems set on not repeating such a musical drought, already releasing their second song of the year “Keep It Rolling” after April’s “High Life.” As reported by Stereogum, this track features a collaboration with Kennyhoopla, a pop punk newbie from Cleveland best known for his work with Travis Barker.
While the groovy “High Life” seemed better fit for the dancefloor than the head-banging shows Bloc Party was known for, “Keep It Rolling” sounds like a return to form, a familiar yet more-refined version of the energetic punk sound that characterized their earlier releases. Amongst the propulsive drum beat and echoed guitar plucks is a distinctive bittersweet feeling, as the band’s lead singer Kele Okereke describes a relationship full of tire and toil, wondering by the end whether or not it was worth the effort he put in.
Kennyhoopla matches the song’s vibe perfectly—to quote Okereke, “I’ve been a fan of Kenny’s for a while now, so when he came to London I jumped at the chance of getting in the studio together. We wrote a bunch of songs in one afternoon and ‘Keep It Rolling’ was one of those ideas. I always felt quite attached to that idea so I decided I would like to bring it to Bloc Party, so we turned it into a song. It was all very organic.” Returning the praise, Kennyhoopla said “I’ve always been a huge Bloc Party fan so this was a bucket list collab for me. I hardly do any features, so if I do one, it’s always for family.”
Bloc Party is currently on tour with Paramore alongside other acts such as Foals, the Linda Lindas, and Genesis Owusu. Paramore’s Hayley Williams has also gone on record to say that Bloc Party and their debut Silent Alarm were the number one influence for their most recent album This Is Why.
Read mxdwn’s interview with Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke following the release of their 2022 album Alpha Games here.
Listen to “Keep It Rolling” by Bloc Party and Kennyhoopla here:
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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