Sometimes, a cup of coffee just isn’t enough. You need that boost of energy that caffeine just can’t achieve, which is where Bloc Party comes into play. ‘Traps’, the band’s newest single, is all the energy you need for that picker-upper.

The song opens without shying away from its theme. There’s no easing into it: listeners are thrown right into the fire. The instrumentation builds and builds until it explodes into the intro to the verse, with an incredibly catchy guitar riff and dance-y drum-beat, in the most punk fashion imaginable. The vocals hammer those themes home, delivered in a half-yell, half-melodic fashion. The thick accent is very charming, and somehow works wonderfully with the composition, as singers usually all blend into this mix of accents from all over the world. The pre-chorus has a more softly-sung melody giving guidance to the punk yelling, working wonderfully in contrast. The choruses are exciting and jumpy, continuing with the dance-rhythm played by the drums. The jumpy guitar notes are traded for chords, only to go right back to that sweet riff for the second verse, where the tongue-and-cheek hints of the song are a bit more blatant in the sweetest way. ‘Traps’ goes to many sections, especially considering its length, all the while staying consistent and constantly heightening the dynamics of itself. There’s a very punk guitar solo which consists of jumping a note from one octave to the other thanks to a fuzzy whammy pedal, ending on the tension note that begs for resolution as the band grows as loud as its been this entire composition, and then just ending without that last note we all want to hear. It feels almost like rebelling against music itself, in a way, which is just about the most punk concept I could think of when it comes to the actual music.

‘Traps’ by Bloc Party is extremely fun, cheeky, and energizing. Its length is just under three minutes, which is just perfect for what it sets out to do, which is to swoop by without notice, hype the crowd, make them smile, and end before they even have a chance to say their thanks. It’s almost nostalgic of the old school and local punk scenes, done in a way that feels masterfully crafted without trying to.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.