Albums: Blur The Ballad Of Darren

Anyone of a certain age will recall the Britpop battle between Blur and Oasis. The two distinctly different bands famously made headlines for their on-going rivalry, which of course came to a head with the Country House vs Roll With It battle for #1. While Blur won the coveted #1 spot in the charts, it was in the aftermath of their first #1 single that the band really started to showcase just how diverse and skilled they were as artists. Having formed back in 1988, their debut album Leisure, showed their huge potential from the very outset. However, with 1999’s 13 and 2003’s Think Tank the group really moved into a more artsy terrain and showcased how deep and reflective their lyrics could be.

Having seen their line-up make subtle changes over the year, fans screamed with glee to learn that the original quartet were once again reunited. While the promise of the epic Wembley shows was more than enough cause for celebration, it was with the release of their first single in 8 years, The Narcissist, that their loyal audience knew that a real treat was in store.

With a running time of just over 36 minutes (42 if you buy the deluxe edition), The Ballad of Darren is the band’s shortest album to date. Based around demos written principally by Damon Albarn while he was out on tour with Gorillaz, the group met and developed the ideas collaboratively as an exploration of who the band are these days rather than trying to recapture the heyday of who Blur once were. Albarn has stated the album is the first full Blur record since 13, given that all of them were in the room as the songs were developed.

Interestingly, the collection sees the quartet in a far poppier place than 2015’s The Magic Whip. Blur are an outfit that has always understood how to deliver a chorus, but they haven’t always relied on a chorus to sell the song. The Ballad of Darren does not rely on the standard pop format but instead has verses that would sit easily on any of the more recent Blur albums, with choruses that hark back to their early days.

The formula is a winning one. While the album is brief, it is packed from start to finish with some of the finest moments the group has delivered. The lead single The Narcissist is an obvious highlight, but it is joined by the lush The Ballad and the truly sensational Barbaric at the peaks of what is a stunning return.