Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	55/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Drowned in Sound	3/10
Entertainment Weekly	A–
Mojo
NME
The Guardian
Pitchfork	5.0/10
Q
The Skinny
Under the Radar	4/10

Hymns is the fifth studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released worldwide in January 2016 on BMG. The album was recorded between March and August 2015 at Lynchmob Studios in London, following a hiatus during which Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes departed the band. It is the first album to feature new members of the band: Justin Harris on bass and keyboards, and Louise Bartle on drums. The songs "The Love Within", "The Good News", and "Virtue" were released as singles.

Musically, Hymns was inspired by many sources including rhythm and blues and gospel. It focuses more on electronic music compared to the album's predecessor, Four (2012), which featured a return to Bloc Party's rock style after experimentation with electronic music on their third studio album, Intimacy (2008). Upon release, the album received generally mixed reviews from critics; reviewers focused on the "subdued" nature of the album, with others noting the more spiritual themes in its lyrics.

During the band's 2013 summer tour, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told Canadian newspaper the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July 2013. That October, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party.

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Wikipedia