Damon Alban calls darren song“The First Legal Blur Album Since 1999” 13. That’s 24 years. Blur released two albums during this time: 2003’s think tankguitarist Graham Coxon left the band early in production, and without Graham’s guitar, backing vocals, and general input, it lacked the requisite ambiguity and felt more like one of Albarn’s other projects (Gorillaz, The Good The Bad, and The Queen); and a surprise return in 2015 magic whip The song, based on improvisations recorded by the band in Singapore after the cancellation of the Japanese festival, was completed two years later by Graham Coxon and Stephen Street (producers on Blur’s first five albums), who handed the songs over to Albarn for lyrics and vocals. In contrast, darren songIt’s “legal,” Albarn said, because the way it’s made is much like what they did in the ’90s, where all the Blurs are in one room.
I understand what Albon means, but magic whip Definitely sounds like a Blur album, even though it might be light and off-the-cuff. darren song However, it feels purposeful, no doubt the best blur from now on album 13.
like magic whip, Blur’s ninth album was born in unique circumstances. Blur have secured two big shows at Wembley Stadium in July 2023 and hope to make them even more special with a new record. Meanwhile, Damon Albarn produced a batch of songs that didn’t quite fit the Gorillaz or solo category during his US tour. He brought these songs to the rest of the band and immediately felt the magic of old Blur, and they recorded fast with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode). darren song The announcement came two weeks after they were done, and here we are.
like 13which was made after Albarn’s chaotic breakup with Elastica’s Justine Frischman, darren song This album is deeply personal, and seems like another breakup album, at least in part. (Though nothing is official, he and longtime girlfriend Suzie Winstanley are rumored to have broken up.) “I wish you had time to talk to you about how this breakup has affected me,” he sings on the musically energetic “Barbaric” before moving on to the chorus: “I’ve lost that feeling I thought I’d never lose/Where am I going now?”
Losing “that feeling I thought I’d never lose” could also be read as a thesis on aging, as Blur is well into his 50s. Albon has lived in Melancholy Hills for a long time, and most importantly, darren song There’s a warm, wistful feel to it, more swinging fall ballads than upbeat rock. Opener “The Ballad” initially sounds like something out of an Albarn solo album (with a nod to The Specials’ Ghost Town at the start), but Coxon, James, and Rowntree all bring their own unique qualities to it, adding that unmistakable, soft, fuzzy sound. Its lines articulate the band’s signature (“Together we travel the world”), and it sets a reflective tone between nostalgia and regret that permeates the rest of the album.
That soft, brooding side has been a part of Blur all the way back to “Sing,” and offers some darren songMost moving moment. The penultimate track, “Avalon,” in particular, is a late classic where Albarn looks back on his life and his band, asking, “What’s the point of building an Avalon if you can’t be happy when it’s done?” Also excellent is “St Charles Square,” a gorgeous rock track better than ever before with dreamy, sinuous leads provided by Coxon. modern life is garbageand made Albarn cringe at his 20-something antics (“Every generation has its gilded posers”).
The rest of the album—36 minutes total—is excellent, from the depressing pop hits “Barbaric” and “The Narcissist” to the gorgeous “Goodbye Albert” and “Faraway Iss.” The album closes with “The Heights,” another elegant ballad that once again makes Albon reflect. “See through the stupor in our lives / There’s something so bright out there the yYou can’t even see it/Are we running out of time? ’” As the song gradually raucously ended, it ended abruptly, as if someone had decided to turn off the stereo. Is this the end? darren song It feels like a swan song that would make the perfect closure to a very consistent record, but it’s also too good to be the end.
