Hall of Fame Wichita Recordings: the continuing influence of Bloc Party and ‘Silent Alarm’

A decade on from its release, and there’s still no sign of people shutting up about one vital statement of a debut; Bloc Party’s ‘Silent Alarm’. While it may garner a new flurry of attention around this month - its ten year anniversary - ‘Silent Alarm’ is a record that’s continued to ring within the consciousness of fans and musicians alike throughout its lifetime. Few records can combine elements in the same way, and still manage to create a body of work so in tune; sex, addiction, war, drugs, fleeting love stories and scathing attacks on politicians - all delivered from a storyteller whose tales shed light on issues of identity and post-teen anxieties. With cutting imagery, biting riffs, rich melodies and an utter overflow of passion, there are reference points within that connect with fans and musicians from right across the musical landscape.

That huge appeal of the record saw it remain unmoved from the album charts for an incredible sixty-nine weeks in 2005, and allowed Bloc Party to make an impact stateside like few of their British contemporaries had managed before them. But while it proved a springboard for Bloc Party’s own endeavours - and a wake-up call to a tiring scene - the release of ‘Silent Alarm’ brought praise and attention upon Wichita Recordings, a label that was just beginning to make waves of its own.