Blur reconciled in 2009 and ever since the group has recorded two albums: The Magic Whip (2015), a lunar and murky album that they recorded in Hong Kong, and their new work, The Ballad of Darren , which will be released on July 21.
The band has seemingly made a return to the basics, to the essentials. It is what defined the group when it was formed, 35 years ago. During an interview with El Pais, Blur members talked about the new album.
“Yes, exactly. That was exactly what we agreed to”, enthuses Damon Albarn. But the grace period will not last. “Actually, that basic thing sounded a bit dry to me. We are not AC/DC,” he protests. “We have never been basic,” Graham Coxon said. He added, “We play too many chords to be basic.”
Albarn was askde them to define the record with one word. Albarn chooses “ aftershock ”.
It’s indicative of the aftershock of an earthquake, the tremor that comes after the roar caused by a bigger one. “So many things have happened in these years… Since our last album we have lived through Brexit,a pandemic and the war scenario in Europe. As Mao said about the French Revolution, it’s too early to judge the effects it will have,” Albarn replies (actually, according to a quick check, his prime minister Zhou Enlai said so and about May ’68, but it wouldn’t slip our minds).
His lyrics seem to reflect a state of bewilderment and disorientation. “Yeah. After all, we are called Blur.” That is, blurred contour.
