Watch Bloc Party debut three new songs at BBC 6 Music Festival in Manchester

Bloc Party debuted three new songs from their upcoming album at BBC 6 Music Festival – check out footage below.

The group’s forthcoming album and follow-up to 2022’s ‘Alpha Games’ is being helmed by Trevor Horn, producer of classic records by the likes of Grace Jones, Pet Shop Boys, ABC, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Belle And Sebastian.

Frontman Kele Okereke previously told NME their seventh studio album would be “disco heartbreak” inspired.

Now, fans have been given the first taste of the record, which seems to take them to a more dance-inspired direction. During their set in Manchester yesterday (March 27), Okereke told the crowd: “We have been beavering away on a new album,” before debuting three new songs throughout the performance.

They opened with the hypnotic ‘Coming On Strong’, with Okereke singing over a pulsing bassline: “My baby comes on strong, but it’s okay, it’s what I want.”

Later in the set, they performed ‘Love Bombs’, a synth-led anthem about overbearing romantic love. Built upon a striking guitar riff, the track flows into a melodic chorus and features a nostalgic, slowed vocal effect.

Finally, they played ‘Pigwig’, a catchy, classic indie-rock track with a Duritti Column-esque bridge.

You can watch the full performance here.

Okereke spoke to NME last year about working with “super-producer” Horn: “He’s made some of my favourite records of all time, so it’s quite interesting to hear what he has to say. He’s been making records for most of his life, for over 50 years, so he seems to know all the tricks. He seems to know everyone as well and have a story about everyone.

“It’s a record about heartbreak, really – that’s the only thing I can say about it at this stage,” he added. “Hopefully it will be out next year, but we’ll see.”

Asked about the sound of the album, Okereke replied at the time: “We’re only halfway through with six songs. I think it feels quite synthetic in places. The term that we were bandying around at the start was ‘disco heartbreak’.

“That was the umbrella, but it’s kind of morphed into something else. We’re only six songs in, so it could go completely left. We’ll see.”

In other news, this year, Bloc Party will be joining Muse on their North American tour, before heading on a UK and EU co-headline tour with Interpol in the autumn.