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We’d waited all day for this.

Their set was marked in yellow highlighter on my Falls Byron Bay 15/16 fold out guide. Do not miss.

The deep, dewy, all-day festival ache in our feet said: it’s midnight. Go back to your tent.

But we weren’t leaving.

Bloc Party were next.

We’d captured a clearing in the forest of bodies with uninterrupted views to the stage.

And any minute now, Kele Okereke, the band’s magnetic front man, would wander out and blow our minds.

Their new album – Hymns – had not yet dropped. But the first single – The Love Within – was on radio loop.

It’s cheesy. Abrasive. Primary-coloured. The lyrics are classic Bloc Party. “The Love Within is moving upwards, Sweeter than any drug”. The kind you occasionally, bashfully mime. But it had lodged in my larynx and I liked it.

Played live, there was chemistry. My friends and I danced like albatross and twirled on the ascending synth.

The Love Within was – and is – a winner. Critics gonna hate.

But the rest of the set?

It was comfortable.

And that’s how I feel about Hymns.

Okereke looks like he’s been in good paddock. Plump, smiley. Shunning the illicit. Embracing the love.

The twitching urgency of Silent Alarm and A Weekend In The City has been stilled. Peeved and political has made way for the serene, semi-spiritual.

But I dig it, I really do. And with a few more listens it’ll stick.

A number of tracks stand out as early favourites – Living Lux, The Good News, So Real.

And the album in its entirety makes a great afternoon appetiser. Best with a light wine and cheddar.

You’ll forgive the clunky bits; they’re endearing, honest. You’ll get your fix of Indie Pop. Plus Brit Rock Disco, if that’s a thing.

And despite a loss of nervous energy, Hymns commands the same Bloc Party charm.

As their last note rung in the midnight paddock, my friends and I forgave Bloc Party their happiness. And sung “Take your shoes off, feel the earth, Beneath your feet respond to touch, And let our laughter now ring forth, As the love consumes us” with feeling, all the way back to the campsite.

Wanna check it out on CD & Vinyl? Head to The Muses store by clicking here and grabbing your copy.

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Happy rocking!