21 July 2023
Today Brit-pop-rock icons BLUR launched their
9th LP, baptized The Ballad Of Darren. Their first
in 8 years (The Magic Whip came out in 2015).
Pre-order info here.
The artwork depicts a photo of the Gourock Pool
in Renfrewshire (Scotland) by British photographer
Martin Parr.
NME says: “Their brilliance continues The band’s joyous reunion only gets more emotional with this tear-jerking, soaring epic. Unlike many of their peers, there has never been a timelessness to a Blur album – that’s a good thing. When you listen to ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ now, you can feel disdain for the culture that surrounded them, or the raw confusion of heartbreak on 1999’s ‘13’; they have a way of transporting you to a precise moment or emotion. It’s why ‘The Ballad of Darren’ is so memorable and touching: you can feel it, everything, in every line sung or note played. Speaking to NME last week, Rowntree says that when they were recording, “everything we tried, worked”, and that “magic was in the air”. It is keenly felt here; may it never fade away.” Full review here. Score: 4/5.
TUTV: Lots of slow ones, lots of reflective musings, lots of romantic ballads (including Darren‘s one), lots of melancholia. They only rock out on the punked-up St. Charles Square.
To be honest, a surprisingly intimate record but it grows on you slowly but surely.
Singles/clips: The Narcissist / St. Charles Square
– THE NARCISSIST –
– ST. CHARLES SQUARE –
See you next month.
WOOHOO!
