Onstage, Bloc Party are exciting, interesting, thought-provoking and genre-bending. In person ... well, let's just say that as interview subjects, they make pretty good musicians. Chats with the band usually consist of a few muttered responses and lots of long, awkward silences. Oh, and plenty of bored stares, too.

So for the band to display any kind of emotion is pretty shocking. And when that emotion is sheer excitement, well, then it's downright monumental. Turns out, all you've got to do is ask the bandmembers about their new music. After that, it's autopilot easy.

"We recorded two new songs about a week ago, and we're not sure which is going to be the single now, but it's either going to be a song called 'Hero' or a song called 'Two More Years,' " frontman Kele Okereke said, eyes wide. "We've written about 20 songs, and we'll have more by the end of the year, and we're going to start next year off by recording a new album. We really can't wait."

For a band that's racked up the critical acclaim, and with a video that's gaining heavy rotation on mtvU, "Banquet" (see "Bloc Party Feast On Film Stock For 'Banquet' Video"), it'd be easy for Bloc Party to rest on their laurels. But Okereke said resting is pretty much the antithesis of what his band is all about.

"It's just that we tend to work very quickly and get bored very quickly, so it's in our best interest to get things done as soon as possible," he said. "As of right now a lot of it is unfinished, but it sounds more sophisticated. I think we're all a lot more knowing when it comes to recording now. And I think a lot of these new songs have been written with the idea of recording in mind."

So they've been churning out new songs, using every spare moment to work new material out. And those spare moments are pretty few and far between. Bloc Party have a hefty European tour schedule lined up, which will take them all the way into December. And they've just announced a string of North American dates staring on September 8 in Boston. There are plans for a Silent Alarm remix album too, but details on that are scarce. It would seem Bloc Party are trying to do what countless British acts have before them: conquer the States. But that actually couldn't be further from the truth.

"We're not like most British bands that want to conquer America. We've played all over the world, and we've had a great time all over the world," Okereke said. "Basically, we just want to play our songs, and get to work on writing new ones."

Bloc Party tour dates, according to their publicist:

  • 9/08 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
  • 9/09 - New York, NY @ Roseland
  • 9/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
  • 9/12 - Toronto, ON @ the Docks
  • 9/13 - Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
  • 9/14 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theatre
  • 9/16 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
  • 9/20 - Hollywood, CA @ Palladium
  • 9/21 - San Francisco, CA @ SF Weekly Warfield
  • 9/22 - San Francisco, CA @ SF Weekly Warfield
  • 9/24 - Austin, TX @ Zilker Park (Austin City Limits)
  • 9/26 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle

For more on Bloc Party, check out "You Hear It First: Bloc Party."