Nialler9 in conjunction with The Big Romance present the Listen Closely series of listening parties, a night featuring a focus album from an artist we love on the last Wednesday of the month.
It’ll be Christmas week so we are going with a record to soundtrack the festive season with vinyl indie disco afterwards.
This month: Wednesday December 17th
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (2005)
Bloc Party’s debut album quickly became a seminal indie record of the 2000s with big frenetic indie zeitgeist hits like ‘Helicopter’, ‘Banquet’, ‘This Modern Love’ and ‘Like Eating Glass’. Silent Alarm presented a poppy spin on taut post-punk, edgy pop and alternative ballads, with Kele Okereke’s lyrical explorations of matters of the heart, modern anxieties, intimacy and alienation.
Coming during a MySpace-powered indie explosion, Silent Alarm felt like a manifesto. It bridged rock and dance culture before LCD Soundsystem and others made that fusion mainstream.
Tickets are limited to 45 for this event.
Become a paid member of the Nialler9 Patreon to get half priced tickets.
Join Nialler9 with guest for a discussion about this modern classic, and a playback of the album on vinyl through The Big Romance’s wonderfully plush and clear Toby Hatchett soundsystem. We will chat about the record’s context, craft, production, lyrics and importance of this modern classic for a live Nialler9 Podcast episode. Plus, a vinyl indie disco set after the album from Niall.
Doors: 7:00pm. Arrive early for seats.
Album playback and chat from 7.45pm
Previous albums at Listen Closely parties:
- Outkast – Stankonia (2000)
- My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz (2009)
- Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)
- The Prodigy – Music For The Jilted Generation (1994)
- LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver (2007)
- Kendrick Lamar – good kid M.a.a.d. city (2012)
- J DIlla – Donuts (2006)
- Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of (1998)
- The Avalanches – Since I Left You (2001)
- Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever ago (2007)
- The Strokes – Is This It (2001)
- Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (2022)
- Boards Of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children (1998)
- Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear (2015)
- Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (1994)
- Fiona Apple – Tidal (1996)
- Portishead – Dummy (1994)
- Laurie Anderson – Big Science (1982)
- Madvillain – Madvillainy (2004)
- Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)
- Four Tet – Rounds (2003)
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
