Bloc Party fans may have just been given a glimpse into what the band have in store for their upcoming Australian shows.
The honorary Falls Festival and Southbound headliners have just played their first live gig in over two years, trotting out a brand new lineup and some new tunes to boot.
Taking the stage at California’s The Glasshouse, frontman Kele Okereke addressed the crowd: “Let me bring you up to speed. There’s been some changes in Bloc Party HQ over the last few years,” he said, referring to the departure of drummer Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes (via the ABC).
“As you can see, we have some new members,” he continued, introducing the band’s “beautiful and talented” new drummer, Louise Bartle, and an American bassist he referred to only as “Justin”.
The band also debuted two brand new songs, opening with a sombre track called Edon , and later busting out Exes, which some fans may have heard Okereke play live and acoustic on triple j back in March.
The singer also revealed that the band had “just finished recording” their newest album, which includes around 15 tracks, including “Afro-Cuban percussion” and a fully blown choir.
“Personally I’m really amazed with the sonic landscape so far,” Kele added to triple j recently. “[It] feels like a culmination of what we’ve been working on with our past four records … some of the most gentle music we’ve ever made, maybe some of the most abrasive music we’ve made.”
Check out fan-shot footage of Bloc Party performing their two new songs, below, along with their full setlist from The Glasshouse show.
Watch: Bloc Party – Edon Live @ The Glasshouse, 2015
Watch: Bloc Party – Exes Live @ The Glasshouse 2015
