After the mixed reception afforded 2008's Intimacy, London four-piece Bloc Party went on sabbatical for two years. On the evidence of Four, the break did them good: from the off there's an urgency – and an aggression – to their post-punk shapes that hadn't been evident since their bravura debut, Silent Alarm. 3x3 and We Are Not Good People are propelled by a ferocious intensity, while Kettling recreates Smashing Pumpkins' monumental guitar sound to fine effect. It's not completely without its longueurs – the lightweight VALIS is remarkable only for its blandness – but at its best this is the sound of a band rediscovering what made them so special in the first place.