Bloc Party have shared their new single ‘Now We Can’t Be Friends’ and details of a UK record store tour – check them out below.
The latest taster from their upcoming album ‘Anatomy Of A Brief Romance’ sees frontman Kele Okereke “heading back out clubbing again” after a romantic break-up and “not speaking to his ex when he sees him on the dancefloor” on the synth driven track.
Okereke added: “You can have these big feelings, but you have to be aware that when they go, this is how you’ll feel and, you’ll be OK with that.” You can listen to it below.
It follows previous singles ‘Love Bombs’ and ‘Coming On Strong’ and continues the album’s “chronological portrait of a love affair, and progresses right from the first glances through to the heartbreak and final farewell”.
Spread out across 14 songs and produced by Trevor Horn (Grace Jones, Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes To Hollywood), the record is structured like a memoir from frontman Okereke and features some of the most personal songs he has ever written. It marks the seventh album from Bloc Party, following on from 2022’s ‘Alpha Games’.
‘Anatomy Of A Brief Romance’ is set for release on September 11 on the new record label cOnTAGIOUS LTD (via Virgin Music Group). Visit here to pre-order.
In conjunction with its release, the band will also hit the road for a series of record store shows kicking off at Wax and Beans in Bury on September 9, with a stop at Rough Trade East in London on September 15. You can purchase tickets here.
The full list of tour dates is:
SEPTEMBER
9 – Wax and Beans @ The Mets, Bury
10 – Banquet @ Circuit, Kingston
11 – Jacaranda Baltic, Liverpool
13 – Rough Trade @ Palais, Nottingham
14 – Rough Trade, Bristol
15 – Rough Trade East, London
17 – Crash @ Stylus, Leeds University
Later 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. You can purchase tickets for their UK dates here.
Elsewhere, last spring, Okereke told NME about what fans could expect from their upcoming seventh album, sharing that it would be “disco heartbreak” inspired.
“It’s a record about heartbreak, really – that’s the only thing I can say about it at this stage. Hopefully it will be out next year, but we’ll see,” he said, also going on to share what it was like to work with iconic producer Trevor 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.”
