Entry #45 – What I’ve Been Listening To Lately: March 2025 (a.k.a This is a regular thing now, so naturally I’m posting this three days late)

I’ve been on more familiar ground for the past month, not straying too far from the beaten path as work becomes more intense the closer summer approaches. That familiarity can keep you stable and lord knows music is good at harnessing your emotions in this day and age.

Anyway, I guess that’s me saying in a very wanky sort of way that there are no surprises in my playlist for March 2025:

Radiohead – In Rainbows

Run from it, hide from it, the Radiohead rabbit hole beckons all the same. And yes, I am one of those normies who say that In Rainbows is their favourite album, but do you blame me? I know Jigsaw Falling Into Place has become TikTok cannon fodder, but I still love that song to bits (full thoughts here: https://asideglance.com/2020/09/18/entry-4-jigsaw-falling-into-place-a-k-a-i-accidentally-started-to-like-radiohead/ ). 15 Step is an energetic but traditionally sinister opener, Videotape is a heartwrenching closer, and between them you have some of the band’s finest work like Bodysnatchers and Nude. Can never leave this album alone for too long.

Paul Weller – Heliocentric

Paul has gone on record saying he isn’t too fond of his 2000s output, and I think Heliocentric is a shining example of why. It’s an album that never truly gets going, the first two thirds of the album all coast along at the same mid-tempo pace, and by the time you reach a proper rocker in the form of There Is No Drinking, After You’re Dead, you’ve stopped giving a toss. The singles are fine though – He’s the Keeper is a good track and Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea is, well, sweet, but that’s about where it ends for me. It’s all so frustratingly restrained. Far from the Modfather’s finest work.

Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories)

I must admit that I found this one through TikTok but it goes to show that once in a while, an algorithm can recommend stuff that isn’t a waste of thought. The title compelled me, the genres of prog rock and jazz fusion brought me in, and I had a good enough time with this album, with its swaying tales of televangelists and watchmakers. I may have to give it another go to fully appreciate it (I was drifting off after a long night of work) but you only get one chance to make a good first impression. This one succeeded.

The Beatles – Let it Be…Naked

I listened to Let It Be for the first time last year. Didn’t hate it, not a bad album. Shame most of the la’s thought differently, thanks to Phil Spector’s wall of sound, which is what led me to put it up against the Naked version that Paul helped put together in 2003. And honestly? I prefer the original. I think the grandiosity of Spector’s version is what made me enjoy the album in the first place. Songs like the title track and Get Back hold up fine without the window dressing, but others like I Me Mine don’t. I get that it was originally meant to be a back-to-basics album, but there is such a thing as too basic. Ain’t broke? Don’t fix it.

The Kinks – Face to Face

If you’re going to listen to the Beatles, you have to give the Kinks the time of day as well. This is another album I stuck on after a stressful day at the office, mainly because I knew it was the one that had Sunny Afternoon on it. Love that song. The rest of the album was excellent too, Party Line, Dandy and Holiday in Waikiki being particular highlights. And apparently, this is just when the Kinks really started getting good. I think Arthur might be a good shout for next month.

MOOON – III

And who said the 60s was dead? I came across this Dutch three-piece when I was looking up who was playing the Cluny in Newcastle, and they are right up my street; psychedelic rock with heavy influences from bands such as the Who and Small Faces? Shut up and take my money! A band so heavily trapped in a time warp could be argued as being unoriginal and playing to nostalgia but MOOON’s charm can easily win you over, if not in their music (available in mono for that authentic 60s touch!), then definitely in their music videos. See below:

The Molotovs – More More More

Speaking of bands who could be accused of drawing too heavily from their influences, the Mod-tinged Molotovs have been eagerly anticipated for ages now and they have finally released their debut single (and it’s this week’s number one on the vinyl charts, happy days!). The bitterness and noise of punk runs through this song’s veins and its anthemic stylings are surely going to turn heads as we inevitably approach the band’s first LP. It’s early days, but they are certainly promising.

Welly – Big in the Suburbs

But this debut LP has just arrived, and has snuck its way into this entry just in time. Welly are an up-and-coming indie band who have brought us an album that is caked in Britishness – The lyrics name dropping supermarkets, types of houses, and larger-than-life characters off the street.; the front cover and merchandise evoking iconography any average motorway hopper/DVLA employee will be familiar with; the vocals of what sounds like the love child of Damon Albarn and Ed Gamble, with his observant eye scanning over modern-day Britain in a manner similar to Parklife and Different Class. Britpop for the Terrible 20s. Just what the doctor ordered.

Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

It turned 25 this year. It got re-released with nothing new whatsoever. I listened anyway. And I think some of my opinions have changed since I last spoke about this album during lockdown. Watch this space…

Entry #44 – A Selection of What I’ve Been Listening to Lately (a.k.a Insert obligatory GTA San Andreas meme here)

Hello again. Been a while. I’d love to chalk up the gathering of dust upon this blog to me suffering some personal issues, or travelling the world, or becoming the target of a countrywide manhunt. But if the truth be told, I’ve just been juggling work and lazyitis. Saying that though, life can change rather drastically in the space of a year can’t it? The real world outside our windows is increasingly going to shit so the natural response is to bury ourselves deep in our record collections, hoping that all will be OK (And it will, don’t worry. If you don’t believe me, listen to all 10 minutes of All Around the World by Oasis. Oh, speaking of, they reunited. See, things aren’t entirely shit, are they?).

At least, that’s what I’ve been doing as of late.

I’ve also been trying to expand my tastes. I am and always will be a perennially Britpop kind of guy but it gets less and less fun hearing the same kind of music over and over. You need to vary things up once in a while. That’s what I’ve been trying to do as a kind of/sort of/not quite New Year’s resolution, and so far I think it’s working out quite well. That’s why, as a way of blowing away the cobwebs and bringing back A-Side Glance, I want to tell you about a selection of albums I’ve listened to lately. I’m only going to restrict myself to about 100 words or so per paragraph, as there is some stuff in this list that I do want to write full blown reviews on down the line.

So with all of that in mind, here’s a chunk of what I’ve been listening to lately:

Bjork, Homogenic

I’ve been wondering where to start with Bjork for a good long while now and Homogenic is one that often has its praises sang. And I can understand why, Bjork brings a comforting kind of mysticism in an album that might sound a bit flat musically on first listen, but that allows the fluttering appearances of strings to stand out all the more. I might need to try other albums like Post to really get to grips with Bjork’s style but the fact that I want to do just that is a good indicator.

David Bowie, Station to Station

Low is my favourite Bowie record, but its predecessor truly gives it a run for its money. With fascism becoming a thing again, I figured it might be an idea to let the Thin White Duke espouse the romantic side of it. And I know that Bowie was at his lowest ebb physically and mentally, but that doesn’t stop me from being captivated by the Duke. His cold nature adds a frosty layer to his romantic proclamations, highlighting how he is not a man fit to love. Wild is the Wind may not be written by Bowie, but his tortured performance makes it truly his.

Can, Tago Mago and Kraftwerk, Trans-Europe Express

To go from Station to Station, you must take the Express. Kraftwerk may be most famous for Autobahn, but Trans-Europe Express is the apex of their work – Stabby synths, tinny vocals, melodies that won’t leave your head in a hurry. Ja, indeed. After that, I stayed on the Krautrock train and checked out Can, seeing as they were classed as the pioneers of the sound. I like it when it sounds like musicians are moulding the music they make like clay, and that is exactly what Can do on their debut. Ja, again.

Fishmans, 98.12.28: Otokotachi no Wakare

We go now from 70s Germany to 90s Japan with this, what is honest to God the best live album you will ever hear. No, not hyperbole. Dream pop and all the wonder within laid down by a band determined more than ever to get it absolutely perfect, as this was their last show before bass player Yuzuru Kashiwabara departed. And then it turned out to be the last show for Fishmans as a whole, as singer Shinji Sato passed away weeks later. But for a closing statement, intentional or otherwise, you will find nothing finer, no band more determined to get it right. Well, almost nothing…

Casiopea, Casiopea and Mint Jams and Himiko Kikuchi, Flying Beagle

Staying in Japan for a hot second though, I went through a phase where I found myself loving their jazz fusion movement. This might be a hangover from listening to the Ridge Racer Type 4 soundtrack (See here: https://asideglance.com/2020/12/07/entry-13-sampling-soundtracks-i-ridge-racer-type-4-a-k-a-hey-its-a-new-record/ ). But these are two of the best to do it, Casiopea especially as they proved they could do it in the studio and on the stage and not put a foot wrong. And Kikuchi just brings plain joy to the world with Flying Beagle. If you’re on a long drive, stick these on, you’ll be home before you know it.

George Harrison, Brainwashed

When I decided to listen to some George Harrison, my head told me to turn to All Things Must Pass or Living in the Material World. But that would be too easy, too passe. I wanted to give his posthumous album, his last words on the material world, a listen. And am I glad I did because this is easily one of the best albums I’ve listened to. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish, to the point where almost every song on the LP is now in my personal playlist. It may be a bit on the nose at times, but that’s George for you. Once he had your attention, he’d make damn sure you listened.

Rialto, No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive

And so we come full circle back to Britpop with a new single, Rialto’s first in nearly 25 years. And it’s like they never left. It’s early days yet but I get the feeling this’ll be in my top five most listened to songs on Spotify come the end of 2025. It’s an ear worm, it’s inescapable, it forces you to leave a piece of yourself with it…just like the eponymous discotheque. Rialto maintain that sinister undercurrent and their affinity for melodrama they should have been so well-known for. Production techniques might have changed over the past quarter-century, but the band’s talent certainly hasn’t been lost to time.

Entry #43 – Liam Gallagher & John Squire (a.k.a Bugger it, I should’ve called this Shrug of the Shoulders of Giants!)

Liam Gallagher and John Squire, despite being two of the best musicians of the modern age, have been victims of their own monumental success. Be Here Now and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants were slagged off for not matching the lofty heights of Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory. Second Coming was dismissed for not being a patch on The Stone Roses. You raise the bar too high, the audience is going to loudly say you’ve missed your mark.

And now it seems that history has repeated itself.

When it was announced that the two were going to be releasing a record together I think it’s safe to say folks of the 90s were preparing for the second coming of Christ in album form. Oasis meets Stone Roses, the Mancunian snarl meeting the spaced-out guitars of Madchester’s finest. We all knew it was going to be number one from the word go with ten bangers on the way for spring.

Or rather we hoped. What we have ended up with was probably going to be a disappointment regardless of how good it truly was. All the hype set the bar too high. Or maybe it’s a case of the two coasting along, knowing that whatever they put out is going to be lapped up. Whatever the case this album has not been well-received. Some have loved it, others have crapped on it.

Me? I dunno, I still need to figure out what this album truly is, if it is a misunderstood masterpiece that will be vindicated by history a la SOTSOG, or if it is, by Gallagher and Squire standards, shit. I haven’t listened to it in full since release day. Let’s try it again.

Track #1 – Raise Your Hands

Off to a good start. Liam sounds good and John is given the last 30 seconds to have some fun on the guitar. Little tease of the solos you need to get used to whenever he’s in town. A bit pop-leaning but one that would get the crowd at a live show pumped up. Can’t complain really. One down, nine to go.

Track #2 – Mars To Liverpool

Love that opening line, I honestly think it’s up there with “Son, I’m thirty, I only went with your mother cos she’s dirty” from Kinky Afro. Arguably should’ve been the lead single, this. It’s one you can’t get enough of.

Track #3 – One Day At A Time

Acoustic is a little refreshing, shame it gets swallowed up and is never heard from again for the rest of the album. Oh and sound the lyric alarm because we have this corker: “You should’ve f*cked me when you had the chance”. Bit try-hard and out of place.

Track #4 – I’m A Wheel

The most recent single. Was it worth bothering to make it so? Mmm. Yeah, definitely. Very bluesy. I approve. Mind you, I had to stop and check I hadn’t imagined Liam singing “There’s blood in my custard”. To me that’s a lyric that you put in something akin to I Am The Walrus, not a stomper like this. But hey, it’s one small misstep. I’m enjoying myself a lot more than when I last listened to the album. Will the good times keep rolling?

EDIT: Sorry, make that two missteps, I missed “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for”.

Track #5 – Just Another Rainbow

In terms of music itself this album has excelled for me so far and this is arguably the apex – The guitarwork and production sends you sky high in a psychedelic haze and I’m all here for it.

Unfortunately, in terms of lyrics so far this is the nadir. Let’s get the obvious out of the way, listing the colours of the rainbow is just daft. Forgive me for referencing a Beatles song two times in a row but that should be for a children’s song like Yellow Submarine. This is not a child’s song.

I still like it though. As with I’m A Wheel, it’s just one questionable part of a song that I’d happily listen to over and over.

Track #6 – Love You Forever

It’s at this point I get worried we might be setting up a formula. Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-fill in the blanks with guitars solos and chorus. I hope we’re not about to get complacent as I feared might happen.

As for the song overall, not a lot to offer frankly. It’s a bit Seahorsey but that’s all I can really say.

Track #7 – Make It Up As You Go Along

This one offered something though…to TikTok, for all of a week. Seriously, “Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and f*ck you too” was all over the place and then it was gone. That sodding ‘Oh no-no-no’ tune still lives on but this doesn’t? Sacrilege.

Anyway, notice how I have nothing else to talk about with regards to the song. It blows by like a fart in the wind. Doesn’t even stick around long enough for you to process it. I have a strange feeling that this is setting the tone for the rest of the album, and why I wrote it off as ‘OK’ last time I listened to it.

Track #8 – You’re Not The Only One

Rolling Stones meets George Harrison. “Something in the way she smiles”? I mean, come on. This song does rock though, all credit to Squire and the band who are hard at work here. We’re back on winning form.

Track #9 – I’m So Bored

Well that was shit. Next.

Track #10 – Mother Nature’s Song

I challenge you to say the riff doesn’t remind you of Octopus’ Garden without laughing.

The beat’s practically the same as Raise Your Hands.

It’s a bog-standard hippy anthem. Saccharine. Sorry lads, you’ve lost me.

Conclusion:

If we go by the songs I like and subtract the songs I dislike then the album has an average score of 6/10. That’s at least two below what it should be.

The first half of the album is brilliant and exactly what you expect and want from two heavyweights of rock n roll like Liam and John. They sound tremendous on vocals and guitar respectively. But I honestly think that first half is all they had in the tank. Hell, the fact that all four singles make up the bulk of that first half indicates just how big the dip in quality is from Just Another Rainbow onwards.

If this album was an EP made up of Hands to Rainbow, it would’ve been adored universally. But I think they realised they had to make more, as the second half is lyrically bland and relies too heavily on whatever they can find in their record collections. I like 60s sounding stuff, but when it sounds original. I know it gets harder to be original with each passing year but again, this is Liam Gallagher and John Squire. They should know better than to switch to autopilot.

It might very well be misunderstood, after all music is subjective. But my opinion is still the same as it was last time I listened to it. It’s fine, but not the masterpiece it promises to be. Just fine. Is it worth spending £80 just to hear these songs live, plus Jumping Jack Flash? No. You’d have been better off saving your coppers for the Definitely Maybe tour.

Thing is though, regardless of my own personal feelings, this album is always going to be a historic one for me. This is the first album I have ever got on the day of its release. Nothing’s going to change that.

Entry #42 – Sampling Soundtracks V: The Simpsons: Hit & Run (a.k.a The sounds of times both fun and frustrating)

The Simpsons. One of the most legendary shows to ever grace the earth. A show that has brought joy to millions worldwide thanks to the antics of a family of whackjobs. And one that was definitely a key part of my early childhood and my love of cartoons. I had about half a dozen compilation tapes on VHS and would watch them time and time again because the show was that damn good.

Was being the key word here.

Yeah, nowadays when The Simpsons is brought up online, chances are it’s going to be a rehash of that age-old debate; when did the show go bad? When Principal Skinner was unmasked as an impostor? When Jerkass Homer reared his ugly head? When Maude Flanders died? When Phil Hartman died? When season 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or whatever number you pluck out of thin air was aired? When the first episode aired? It’s a depressing cycle of retreading and rehashing the same old arguments.

So allow me to throw my own hat into the arena. The Simpsons went bad after the release of the 2003 classic, Simpsons Hit & Run.

This game was Grand Theft Auto for kids in the world of the Simpsons. It’s a delightful concept, one I ate up as a child, and played religiously in spite of how formulaic and how hard it got (If you know this game, you’ll know Set to Kill was pixelated PTSD). Why? Because the writing and the voice acting was top notch, you had such a wide range of cars to use from the long history of the show, and it just felt so good to be immersed into the faraway world of Springfield.

Oh and the soundtrack was bloody phenomenal too. Despite not being done by then-resident musician Alf Caulsen, the game’s developers brought in Marc Baril who managed to capture the feel of the show’s music and gave each level and character a track tailored to their needs. Here’s a few choice tracks which, even if they don’t convince you to somehow find and play the game, will immerse you in the wild world of Springfield and its inhabitants.

Homer’s Day

A grand day out for the jolly fat man. Perfectly encapsulates both the day-in-suburbia tone of the game’s first level and Homer’s daftness. Not ashamed to say this one always makes me nostalgic and brings me back to exploring Springfield for the first time as a wee lad.

The Fat and the Furious

Speaking of memories and nostalgia, I’d say that this track is on the opposite end of the spectrum because of how ball-aching that last mission of the game was, and how often I’d have to listen to this as a result. But before we get there, this is still an epic tune with a real save-the-day feel. Special mention also needs to be given to the second half of the track, which you can only hear in the whole game for a few precious seconds or as long as you dare to let Smithers get away before you race him to Burns’ mansion. Wasted effort, that part.

Alternatively, you could just do what the player in this video does – Glitch the game and run like hell through the power plant while Smithers drives around the map. Who will make it first? Only one way to find out, but Fat and the Furious’ mostly unheard second half will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Flowers By Irene

Combining sneaking with foot-hard-on-the-pedal driving ain’t easy but Flowers By Irene makes it work admirably.

Legitimate Business

It’s a throwaway track on a 10-second loop but it’s so reminiscent of Woke Up This Morning that I have to give it a nod.

Monkey See Monkey D’oh!

Dare you to find a more jaunty tune than this.

Vox Nerduli

There are two pros and two cons of Vox Nerduli, the mission:

Cons: The car is a bit crap and the race itself is the first real ball-breaker of the game that takes a few attempts to get right.

Pros: The track is a wonderfully theatrical sci-fi pastiche, and Comic Book Guy’s trademark snark complements it perfectly.

The pros outweigh the cons just about enough for me to not dread coming back to this mission on a replay every once in a while.

Cell Outs

Ask 7 year old Ollie what his favourite tune was in this game and he’d say it was this. Ask me now and it’s still comfortably top 5. It’s the right balance of funny, creepy and dramatic.

Harbour Hustle

Seaside jazz. Oh yes please.

Ketchup Logic

It’s not unusual to love this little ditty. Each character’s theme encapsulates their musical side – Bart has his guitar-led rockers, Lisa is accompanied by slightly pompous jazz and Marge gets the Tom Jones treatment. I love the way the main Simpsons theme is sprinkled into the middle part of this track.

I have to say though, I did read a comment online recently that questioned why Homer’s theme is recycled for level 4. It doesn’t really suit Marge at all whereas this tune does, with her in full-investigative mode trying to work out what happened to Bart. Lack of Ketchup Logic from the sound designers, there.

This Little Piggy

Level 5 is my least favourite level in the game. The downtown map is the weakest of the three, the missions are tough as nails (Do NOT get me started on Never Trust A Snake), and for whatever reason Apu lacks a main driving theme.

But while I’ve been revisiting the soundtrack recently, it’s actually the level 5 tunes that I’ve been listening to more and more. Bollywood takes Springfield whilst Apu is behind the wheel, and This Little Piggy especially makes you want to rush from point A to point B and twat the odd car on the way. Like Cell Outs, firmly cemented in the top 5.

Milking the Pigs

If there is one thing that this track proves, it’s that modern music needs more church bell. The end of days is here but good lord it rocks!

Kang & Kodos Strike Back

Another tune that nicely weaves the show’s main theme into the mix, and very appropriately retro for a car chase with you behind the wheel of the 70’s sports car.

Halloween Havoc

Shit has hit the fan and this tune pounds you over the head to prove that. That drumbeat is vicious and the organ work is a barely contained mess that demonstrates how off-the-rails things have become in Springfield. Level 7 starts off so well, at least where music is concerned…

Long Black Probes

One for the Gerry Anderson fans, and just a great intergalactic-style chase theme in general.

The main theme

Well I couldn’t finish this entry without mentioning the game’s main tune could I? It might be the sound team doing the standard show theme with a quick break of alien noises to foreshadow Kang and Kodos’ role as the main villains, but it is still the theme tune to The Simpsons. And whatever you may think of the show then or now, it is still one of the best themes of all time.

Entry #41 – The Ballad of Darren (a.k.a ‘Life’)

It’s fine. It’s a fine album. Nothing groundbreaking, no new Parklife or anything like that. But then again it doesn’t really need to be. Blur had already accomplished what they set out to do decades ago. Anything we get these days we should consider ourselves lucky for. And I’m glad we got them back just one more time.

That was what I initially wrote after hearing The Ballad of Darren for the first time on the night of July 21st, a night I had been gearing up for since the album was first announced months ago. Maybe I set my expectations a bit too high as the big day drew closer and closer but when I finally got to hear a full Blur LP for the first time since I started caring about music, my world wasn’t exactly set on fire.

But let’s be honest, should it be set on fire? This isn’t the 90s anymore (unfortunately), Damon has given us Gorillaz and done a couple of solo LPs, ditto for Graham and his new project The Waeve, Dave has just started his own with Radio Songs (Which has the most uninspired album cover of all time but that’s besides the point), and Alex has become a real life Wallace with his love of cheese. One of these is not like the others.

And indeed it seems that throughout this album Blur themselves are aware of their status in the modern world, as four aging geezers still making quality indie music. But is there a dark shadow cast over The Ballad of Darren?

Track #1 – The Ballad

Kicking off proceedings is a 20 year old track demo’d during the Think Tank era, and indeed it does remind me of Sweet Song and the sentiment surrounding that song whilst Graham was AWOL. To me, The Ballad is similar to opening scenes that take place at the end of the story, like Sunset Boulevard for example. All the shit has hit the fan, the ballad has played for the narrator, and part of their life is now permanently shut. The strings help evoke the latter, being reminiscent of a funeral. Something has disappeared, gone forever, and that will become a running theme as the album progresses. Brilliant opener.

Track #2 – St. Charles Square

Bit controversial but in the run-up to Darren’s release this was my favourite of the two singles. It immediately made me think of the Blur of old as Graham Coxon did his magic and gave us a Scary Monsters-esque guitar riff that wouldn’t have been out of place on the self-titled album.

However, this one does stick out like a sore thumb considering the rest of the album’s sound and tone. There’s something ‘old glory’ about St. Charles Square. In the context of the album it could be construed as being thrown into a new and slightly disturbing environment and trying to adapt to it like you would in the old days. Or alternatively, considering Damon’s comments about ‘ghosts of monsters’, it’s about trying to shirk the outside influences and manically trying to avoid those long and slender claws.

Regardless of the story it is trying to tell, of its black sheep status on The Ballad of Darren, and (if I have to nitpick) Damon’s slightly lackadaisical vocals, I do still thoroughly enjoy this song.

Track #3 – Barbaric

Before I talk about the song proper can I just say I find it strange releasing a single on the same day as the album itself? Was that common practise back in the day?

Anyway, with a drumbeat from Dave Rowntree that sounds like a funky retake of Stephen Morris’ effort on She’s Lost Control, we move from ’97 to 13 and revisit breakups with the most transparent addressing of the matter since No Distance Left To Run. Graham’s guitarwork changes gear as we switch to a lighter, more poppy sound that is juxtaposed with some tearjerky lyrics that makes Barbaric a perfectly pleasant listen and a late-era Blur classic.

I get that St. Charles Square was probably released as a single to reassure older fans, but let’s be honest this song should’ve been in its place. Or at least released a few days before the album was.

Track #4 – Russian Strings

Escapism is something that practically became a necessity a few years ago when we were dragged through the pandemic and had to run from the fact that our lives were at a lowest ebb. And it sounds like the narrator is feeling this way too as they begin by reaching out into the smoke (No doubt created by a certain f*ckwit of a warlord) for a loved one. But rather than confront the truth, they put off realism and the dread that closely follows using some headphones, trips to Belgradian museums and “the hard stuff”. It’s quite a heavy song when you dig into it, and I appreciate that.

Track #5 – The Everglades (For Leonard)

5 tracks in and it does seem about the right time for an intimate acoustic number. Regret well and truly rears its head here for the first time (“Many ghosts alive in my mind/many paths I wish I’d taken”), but it’s quickly fought and pushed against with sprinklings of hope and optimism (“Calmer days will arrive” and “We’re not giving in”). Or so it seems as we get the admittance that it’s too late. By the sounds of it Leonard is in a bad way. Poor sod.

Track #6 – The Narcissist

Ok, lead single time. For me this took a while to settle in as it wasn’t really the big stomping comeback I either predicted nor hoped for from Blur. However, this song actually leans into that prediction, the narrator looking in the mirror and reminiscing about the days that would make their heart pound delightfully. But now they’re older and wiser, and now know that taking acid to get joy out of life is not the way. The Narcissist is a song from the perspective of a person who’s been there, done that, needs to move on. They’re better than what they were. And that does make me wonder if Blur, or specifically Damon, are addressing a certain past event with a more mature pair of eyes. I’ll elaborate later on.

In terms of the music itself, it’s good to have Graham and Dave teaming up on backing vocals. For the longest time I was put off by how understated The Narcissist was and how I felt Graham was being held back from doing his usual tricks. But this isn’t a song that requires it, nor is the album one that needs to him to do guitar riffs that would make a coked up John Squire blush. It’s all about the tale being told, the music is secondary but nonetheless sublime.

Track #7 – Goodbye Albert

The Eastern vibes of The Magic Whip are evoked in the opening to this track, the most explicit breakup song since Barbaric. 80s-style beat, whiny guitarwork, warbly basswork, all come together to create one of the more musically impressive efforts on The Ballad of Darren. Lyric-wise? “Don’t punish me forever” is certainly a line that stings, though I must admit that I initially misheard it as “Don’t punch me”. Thought the album was going in a bit of a dark direction there.

Track #8 – Far Away Island

After Russian Strings touched upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I do wonder if this song is an expansion on that topic, this time focusing on someone being forced to immigrate from a home they clearly miss. The song itself is a letter to the lost, asking how things are at home in the first verse, before assuring the reader that all is well or at least could be worse – It’s not ideal “dancing alone with the moon and the white whale”

Track #9 – Avalon

I do love that chorus and it’s once again another shining example of the inspired melodies present throughout the album. But Avalon is a track that feels like a placeholder, a calm before the storm…

Track #10 – The Heights

The Essex Dogs are barking again. It sounds like that song is trying its damndest to break out and terrify us once more, and in those final seconds we get that cliffhangery static reminiscent of the lo-fi of the self-titled album. It really catches you off guard after how the past half hour has gone since St. Charles Square. Despite how restrained and even laid-back Blur have been throughout The Ballad of Darren, it goes to show that they will never lose that spiky edge of theirs.

Conclusion:

If this is a breakup album as the tone, songs such as Barbaric, Goodbye Albert and The Ballad, and the comments surrounding the album itself would have you believe, then this could easily be conceived as a stripped back rehash of 13. But the key difference here is the maturity behind The Ballad of Darren, and how they are now all grown up. When 13 was made it was by four pissed off blokes orbiting their 30s who thought their lives were spiralling out of control to the point of destruction, sped up by substance abuse. Now they’re in their mid 50s who know that such cataclysmic events aren’t necessarily the end and that they can work their way through it. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt though.

Initially I believed that in some ways this album was an epilogue to the Life trilogy, but now it could be considered one to their careers as a whole; Blur are now at the midlife stage and that is reflected in the overarching theme of regret peppered with the occasional wry smile as the past is dwelt upon. This is not a Blur album that we needed, but neither is it a Blur album which we will ever say no to.

Good to have you back, gents.