Bloc Party's new record HYMNS is now streaming online

26 January 2016, 14:15 | Written by Laurence Day

(News)

(Bloc Party)

Bloc Party's fifth full-length release HYMNS is streaming in full ahead of its release on Friday.

The album features already-heard single "The Love Within", "The Good News", and "Virtue". It is the first album to feature new rhythm section Justin Harris (Menomena) and Louise Bartle, following the departures of Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

Speaking about the personnel changes ahead of the album's release, frontman Kele Okereke said: “We got to a point where the lineup had to change to allow us to go forward. It was clear at the end of 2013 that it just wasn’t working. If Matt and Gordon hadn’t left, we wouldn’t have carried on as Bloc Party. It’s the most awesome job in the world, being in a band, being able to create music and art and it affect people. It makes me feel sad that I felt back then that it was something I was going to walk away from. I never want to feel like that again... I realised that I want to do this. I want to travel the world and I want to enjoy it all. In my mind, I wanted to prove something."

HYMNS is released 29 January on Infectious/BMG.

Stream the record below via Noisey. The band's upcoming UK dates can be found afterwards.

January

26 - London, UK @ PIAS Nites
27 - London, UK @ MTV Brand News
29 - Cardiff, UK @ Great Hall*
30 - Southhampton, UK @ O2 Guildhall
31 - Kingston Upon Thames, UK @ The Hippodrome (Banquet Records)

February

1 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
2 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
4 - Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
5 - Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland
6 - Manchester, UK @ Academy
8 - Keeds, UK @ O2 Academy
9 - Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
11 - Brixton, UK @ O2 Academy
12 - Birmingham, UK @ O1 Academy
14 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy (BBC 6 Music Festival)