Music

FATHERLAND

This album’s title celebrates the fact that earlier this year, Kele Okereke and his boyfriend of seven years became fathers.

One of its loveliest songs, Savannah, is actually named after their baby daughter. So it’s entirely fitting that Fatherland shows a rather di erent side to the Bloc Party singer who’s previously ping-ponged between his band’s spiky indie-rock and the skittish electronica of two previous solo records. By contrast, Fatherland is a classic-sounding pop album on which pretty acoustic guitar and piano melodies are accessorised with brass, strings, and even the sound of someone whistling on Capers – a surprisingly playful tune about chasing after someone who’s out of your league. But that’s not to say Okereke has gone soft: You Keep on Whispering His Name is a quietly devastating song about realising you’re being cheated on – and the other guy is the one really getting your partner o . Meanwhile, Grounds for Resentment teams Okereke with Olly Alexander of Years & Years, an inspired pairing which came about when Okereke realised that relationship songs are rarely sung by two men. Overall, the warmer musical setting really suits him: Okereke has never seemed so open before, and the results are frequently very affecting.