Bloc Party - Storm And Stress (2005)

Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London, but when they bumped into each other again in 1999 at Reading Festival they decided to form a band. Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition, and after going through a variety of names, such as Union, The Angel Range, and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party. In November 2003 they had their track 'The Marshals Are Dead' featured on a compilation CD called 'The New Cross' released by Angular Recording Corporation, and it then appeared as a b-side to their debut single 'She's Hearing Voices' on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of 'She's Hearing Voices' to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq, who subsequently played the song on his radio show, labeling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for his show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, 'Banquet'/'Staying Fat', this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004. Bloc Party's debut album 'Silent Alarm' was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim, being voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, before being certified platinum. Singles from the album regularly made the top 20 on the UK Top 40 chart, and the band received positive reviews from critics in the United States after they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of 'Silent Alarm'. During July 2005, the band recorded two new tracks with 'Silent Alarm' producer Paul Epworth, which were released as the single 'Two More Years' / 'Hero', and both 'Two More Years' and former single 'Little Thoughts' were added to the re-issue of 'Silent Alarm as bonus tracks. Right from the start of their career, Bloc Party have been generous to their fans by including exclusive recordings on the flips to their singles, and this first of three posts collects them from their first release in 2004, up to their contribution to the 'Help' charity album the following year. 

Track listing

01 The Marshals Are Dead (b-side of 'She's Hearing Voices' 2004)
02 The Answer (b-side of 'She's Hearing Voices' 2004)
03 Staying Fat (b-side of 'Banquet' 2004)
04 Little Thoughts (single 2004)
05 Storm And Stress (b-side of 'Little Thoughts' 2004)
06 Skeleton (b-side of 'Helicopter' 2004)
07 Always New Depths (b-side of 'Helicopter' 2004)
08 Tulips (US single 2004)
09 This Is Not A Competition (previously unreleased 2004)
10 Two More Years (single 2005)
11 Hero (b-side of 'Two More Years')
12 The Present (from 'Help!: A Day In The Life' charity album 2005)