The Brit pop scene got a little more interesting on Tuesday, when Bloc Party announced an immediate reunion and began uploading YouTube videos that showed band members rehearsing new material. The London-based quartet, who formed in 2003 and released three near-perfect albums before announcing a hiatus six years later, enjoyed a well-deserved, worldwide cult following. Now, thankfully, it appears the group will bring more beautiful music into our lives.

If only this were the case for every band. Sadly, when many groups announce an indefinite break, it often signals a death rattle. Maybe these bands just need to know how much they’re missed.

At the Drive-In

In the early 00’s, this El Paso quintet jolted us in same way that Rage Against the Machine did so a decade earlier—potent political grievances sprayed across a metal canvas. Their last album, Relationship of Command (2001), was also their best reviewed, thanks to post-punk headbanger anthems like “One-Armed Scissor” and “Cosmonaut.” After the group broke up in 2001, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala went on to sing for Mars Volta, while guitarist Jim Ward and drummer Tony Hajjar co-founded Sparta. Both of these projects have merit, but neither comes close to matching the intensity—or cohesion—of the parent group. ATDI are reuniting for Coachella 2012 after more than a decade apart, but have no plans to record new material. Damn it all. However, this is decidedly good news for anyone who’s going to Coachella (they’re playing April 15 and 22, times TBD).

The Vines

Highly Evolved is one of the most underrated albums of the 00’s, even though the college crowd ate it up following its 2002 release. Grizzled vocals and three-chord melodics had been mixed before, but frontman Craig Nicholls brought a certain lunacy to the indie scene. His grotesque expressions and unabashed drug use earned him the label of a wild man, and his 2004 diagnosis for Asperger syndrome (a high-functioning form of autism) further complicated his reputation—and largely overshadowed The Vines’ subsequent releases. The band is still together, but the number has dwindled down to two, and Nicholls is the only original member. Let’s hope these Aussie rogues can patch up their differences in time for a 10th anniversary tour.

Andre 3000

Outkast began with two Atlanta kids rappin’ about Cadillacs and Southern playas, but with every subsequent album, the divide between Andre 3000 and Big Boi seemed to widen. The latter was a gangsta—albeit, a gentlemanly one—while the former took a more idiosyncratic approach to hip-hop (did he just say, "cooler than a polar bear's toenails"?). Big Boi was the better rapper, but Andre was clearly the artist of the group. In recent years, he has spoken of a forthcoming solo album, but his only musical contributions since 2007 have consisted of guest spots on tracks by Jay-Z, Ciara and Lil’ Wayne, among others. Big Boi says Outkast will record another album once his partner’s solo effort is released. 

AFI

There was a time when A Fire Inside (AFI) was considered a pioneering force in hardcore punk. The Ukiah, Calif.-based group was compared to The Misfits when their debut, Answer That and Stay Fashionable, was released in 1995, and they enjoyed a cult following among American skaters. However, the band’s sound began to evolve around the turn of the millennium. Vocalist Davey Havok became much more emotive, and synthesizers began to take the place of crisp guitar licks. By 2009, when AFI’s last album, Crash Love, was released, the band sounded more like The Smiths than anyone else. The band is still together—Havok debunked rumors of a split last fall—but no new material or tours have been announced as various group members have been involved with side projects in recent years.

Brand New

Emo may not be the most hallowed of music scenes at the moment. But in 10-15 years, when music from the early/mid-2000s makes an inevitable resurgence among the hipster crowd, Brand New will be worshipped like The Cure and Blind Melon are today. This Long Island quintet hasn’t done much in recent years—just one album since 2006. Let’s face it: the emo movement is probably dead. But that doesn’t mean Brand New can’t reinvent their style in order to acclimate to audiences in 2012. In all truth, they were too talented to hang with the likes of Fallout Boy and Taking Back Sunday, anyway.

D’angelo

While these other comebacks have a fair degree of likelihood behind them, D’angelo, sadly, may be out for the count. His early work on Brown Sugar (1995) and Voodoo (2000) is still some of the most beautiful soul music ever produced—rightly so, he was compared to Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Prince during his heyday. Unfortunately, some very poor choices have marred the Richmond-born singer’s reputation in recent years (think drugs and female undercover officers). We’ll always have his early stuff, when he looked and sounded like R&B’s next prominent star. Note to the dudes: if you have a girlfriend and you’ve never heard of D’angelo, then you’re doing it wrong.