The Ballad of Darren, Blur’s first album in eight years, was released last week. They’ve now released two bonus tracks from the deluxe edition of the album: “The Rabbi” and “The Swan.” Take a look at them down below.
Both ‘The Rabbi’ and ‘The Swan’ have that typical Blur sound, with the latter being a quiet ballad and ‘The Rabbi’ being a bright, lively tune. However, both songs come after the album’s main single, “The Narcissist.”
On Friday, July 21‘The Ballad Of Darren’ arrived where NME shared: “There’s always a sense of unfinished business with Blur; they’ve never officially split, but each time they re-emerge it’s as if we’re rekindling a long-estranged affair. Two albums in 20 years since 2003’s ‘Think Tank’ – ‘The Ballad of Darren’ and 2015’s ‘The Magic Whip’ – would suggest they feel the same.”
It continued: “On ‘The Ballad…’ the band are muted and contemplative; there are moments of sheer heartbreak in these songs. Beyond the doom, there’s something resolute and life-affirming in the way this record plays out; you sense the whole momentum of the band moving as a unit, not just pieced together in separate takes like in ‘The Magic Whip’.”
In addition to performing two nights in a row at Wembley Stadium, the band also played an intimate BBC Radio Theatre event, where they debuted the new song ‘Barbaric’ and air classics for their 300-strong audience.
Meanwhile, The indie legends will perform ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ in its entirety at a unique live-streamed event at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith tomorrow (July 25) which will be followed by a string of European festival dates and also appear in Asia as well as in South America. For tickets and additional information, click here.
Alex James, the band’s bassist, stated that returning to Blur was far more “relaxing” than motherhood.
“Playing the bass in a rock band is the easiest thing, compared to parenting,” he shared. “It actually is relaxing going back into that Blur bubble.”