Rachel Goodman’s top alt-rock and alt-pop songs of 2022. L to R; Row 1: Fontaines D.C., Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, Julia Jacklin, GIFT, The Linda Lindas. Row 2: Automatic, The Eaves, The National Parks, Ron Gallo, Love’n’Joy, Blitz Vega. Row 3: Bellows, Heart Racer, Oliver Marson, CVC, The Steens,…

Bloc Party performs at The Masonic in San Francisco on Nov. 20, 2019. Alessio Neri/Staff. SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been a while since Bloc Party has performed in the Bay Area. Wednesday, the British band, one of the last acts from the mid-aughts post-punk revival still active, finally returned, playing…

It’s “love and hate” week at RIFF. We’ve taken on the theme of Valentine’s Day to talk about breakups, both sides of it. We’re finishing off with my Top 10 breakup songs, but there are some caveats: These are only since 1980. So, there’s a whole bunch of old really good soul,…

Photos: Diana Cordero SAN FRANCISCO — Bloc Party’s latest album, Hymns, was met with lukewarm critical response earlier this year. The group’s show Monday at the San Francisco club Mezzanine seemed to warrant that response. The UK quartet hit nice grooves and lift the show toward greatness, but the Hymns cuts would stymie…