13

Sure, I expected this to be great... but did I expect it to be this brilliant? Not even close. This tops every other Blur album for me, and even the entirety of other Damon Albarn projects. Going into this having listened to the singles, you would think this would be a lighter Blur album, with two of the singles being love songs, but you could never be more wrong by thinking that. At points, this album is heavy, experimental, crazy, and just purely brilliant. We start off with Tender, a song quite unlike any Blur has ever made before, as it is far more grandiose than anything else, and probably their most beautiful song, and I feel its seven minute run time is justified. Bugman is quite literally the most insane Blur song, with some of their heaviest guitar riffs, and some brilliant but deranged vocals. You can really tell it’s about drugs, not just because of the lyrics, but just the madness of the sound. And it’s not the only song about drugs, both Swamp Song and Caramel being about heroin, and while Swamp Song takes a similarly insane approach as Bugman, Caramel is a much slower and hypnotic take on it. Coffee & TV is a really sweet love song, with vocals from Graham Coxon, usual guitarist of the band. B.L.U.R.E.M.I. is a really good take on genericness in pop music, even taking digs at the record label they’re on, EMI, through the title being their name combined with EMI. Battle is the most experimental and electronic track on the record, seeming like a precursor to Gorillaz. Trimm Trabb is truly an odd one, and that’s saying something for this album, as it’s about Adidas shoes? My only conclusion on it could be that it’s a piss-take, but an amazing sounding one at that, with a chorus that worms its way into your head and doesn’t leave. It’s so good, and has to be my favourite on the album. Even though the actual closer is Optigan 1, a short instrumental track, the track before that, No Distance Left To Run, is spiritually the closer, as it’s a nice acoustic song, and rounds up the album perfectly. The whole song, especially the ending seems like it’s not only saying farewell to this album, but to an entire era of Blur, as they wouldn’t release another album until 4 years after this, and a wildly different one at that. Damon and the rest of the band almost reach their full potential on this one, and leave you with this pleasant but unsettling near-masterpiece.

Favourite Tracks: Trimm Trabb, Coffee & TV, Bugman

Least Favourite Track: Optigan 1