Over the weekend, Bloc Party's website featured a countdown that was set to end at 11 am British Standard Time (or 6 a.m. Eastern time) this morning. No one knew what the countdown was for, but after sketchy info about recording sessions with producers Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, there was speculation that the band would be releasing new material, possibly in a Raconteurs-esque immediate pressing business model. Instead, as you can now see on the website, the coundown ended with a simple plug for an appearance on BBC Radio 1 tonight, which sent fans emailing NME in a fury.

One commenter noted that if Bloc Party was just posting a radio plug, they should have posted it immediately and not raise expectations. Certainly, the move is building hype and web traffic for the band, but if it's just for a radio appearance, is it really worth it?

Bloc Party does not have a reputation for playing tricks like this, so it seems like this outrage was not the intended reaction. Nonetheless, it still may be worth checking out the radio show online at 2 p.m. Eastern, as they may be making a big announcement on the show in order to justify the hype.