Blur - The Ballad of Darren (LP)

Order NEW VINYL LP

EAN code : 5054197660160
Carrier : LP
Release Date : 21-7-2023

blur announces their first album in 8 years. 'The Ballad of Darren' consisting of 10 new tracks, will be released on July 21st via Parlophone. The first track 'The Narcissist' is out now.

Produced by James Ford and recorded at Studio 13 in London and Devon, 'The Ballad of Darren' is the band's ninth studio album, their first since 2015's The Magic Whip, which features artwork by British photographer Martin Parr.

Alongside the album, blur announce their return to the place where it all began: Colchester, Essex* - for their first ever gig at the Colchester Arts Centre. The gig will also kick off a short series of warm-up gigs, with the band visiting Eastbourne Winter Gardens on 21st May, The Halls Wolverhampton on 26th May and O2 City Hall Newcastle on 28th May.

These warm-up dates kick off a summer of highly anticipated live shows that will see Alex James, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree reunite over the coming months. The band’s first ever show at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8th July sold out in minutes – with a second Wembley show now added to the tour for Sunday 9th July. blur will hit Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome on 27th June.

* Colchester is the home town of band members Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree. Damon and Graham first met as teenagers at Stanway School. Graham later introduced Dave to both Damon and bassist Alex James. Their debut album 'Leisure' was released in 1991.

Damon Albarn: “This is an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now.”

Graham Coxon: “The older and madder we get, it becomes more essential that what we play is loaded with the right emotion and intention. Sometimes just a riff doesn't do the job.”

Alex James: “For any long term relationship to last with any meaning you have to be able to surprise each other somehow and somehow we all continue to do that.”

Dave Rowntree: “It always feels very natural to make music together. With every record we do, the process reveals something new and we develop as a band. We don't take that for granted.”

Tracklist:

1. The Ballad

2. St Charles Square

3. Barbaric

4. Russian Strings

5. The Everglades (For Leonard)

6. The Narcissist

7. Goodbye Albert

8. Far Away Island

9. Avalon

10. The Heights

About blur:

With the release of their debut album 'Leisure' in 1991, blur revolutionised the sound of British pop music. Six consecutive UK #1 albums - Parklife (1994), The Great Escape (1995), Blur (1997), 13 (1999), Think Tank (2003) and The Magic Whip (2015) - and a string of UK #1s, including two #1s with 'Country House' and 'Beetlebum', helped the band achieve mass popularity both at home and abroad, establishing blur as one of the biggest British bands of the past three decades. The band have released eight studio albums and have received ten NME Awards, six Q Awards, five BRIT Awards and an Ivor Novello Award. The band's new studio album 'The Ballad of Darren' is due for release on 21st July 2023.