the whole band was pretty direct in interviews for a while about being bored by rock music and wanting to make more experimental music influenced by radiohead, hip-hop & dance music but this often lead to pretty bad and bizarre results, it wasn't just okereke & lissack leading, though it does seem like they increasingly became the dominant creative force as a duo.
there's definitely some of what you're talking about with increasingly sidelining tong in favour of programmed beats etc. on awitc & intimacy though.
then when they did the back-to-basics rock album with four, it was actually the biggest departure for them & showed that they weren't really very interested in what they'd done before at all anymore, they all talked about being really into grunge when making it. you can kinda hear that influence in the heavier sound of it but it's a pretty idiosyncratic (& not very good) album. i saw them live on that tour and they put on a good show though, despite there apparently being a ton of bad blood behind the scenes which lead to tong & moakes quitting a few months later.
― ufo, Monday, 10 January 2022 04:53 (two years ago) link