Love, as no less than Pat Benatar herself was apt to remind us, is a battlefield. And it is just such an idea that lies at the heart of BLOCK’s latest single, the brilliantly titled “I Thought I Won The War.”
But for all its stark and challenging title, I’m sure it is something that we can all relate to, the idea of being in a relationship that feels more like a series of tactics and strategies, pincer movements and feints, than a romantic two-way street. And so we sit enthralled as he regales us with his war memoirs, admiring the well-worn Purple Heart on his sleeve and sonic combat ribbons.
As one of the leading lights of the anti-folk movement, which came as a response to the commercialisation of the genre through the 80s and 90s, Block makes uncompromising music and “I Thought I Won The War” is both wonderfully addictive yet brilliantly slightly off-kilter…at least when compared with the folk and singer-songwriter sound of today, which is a good thing.
Because that, of course, is the whole point. Why pander to fad and fashion when there is a plethora of alternative paths through the pastures of folk music? BLOCK chooses one that is full of crashing beats and gnashing guitars, rising and falling dynamics, rock-and-roll highs and folky interludes, discordant passages, and acoustic accessibility.
Alternative enough to appeal to the underground, far enough from the recognisable comfort zones that it will catch the ear of the outsider aficionado, but also laced with enough guile and addiction that the more discerning end of the mainstream will catch on too. It’s a deft and delicate path to walk, but BLOCK is about as sure-footed as they come.
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