Blur's 'The Ballad of Darren': Dive into our track-by-track

Anticipating Blur’s recent shows at London’s legendary Wembley Stadium, the biggest performances of the band’s career to date, frontman Damon Albarn pondered: “What's the point of doing all of this unless there’s something that represents in some way how we all feel now?”

So he decided to start writing what would become The Ballad Of Darren – “the first legit [Blur] album since 13,” according to Albarn – in hotel rooms during downtime from Gorillaz’ 2022 Stateside tour.

The title of Blur’s ninth studio album references Darren "Smoggy" Evans, the band's former bodyguard who currently works for Albarn. “[Darren] was always telling me, ‘When are you gonna finish that song?’” Albarn said during a pre-show press conference at Colchester Castle. “So when I finished the song, it could only have one title: The Ballad of Darren. But then it felt like the song isn’t really about him, although he is referenced in it. The song is about something else. But… The Ballad of Darren felt like a perfect summary of what the album is about. It’s quite a family affair, this record.”

Blur in "the '90s", captured by Kevin Westernberg.

The song Evans kept nagging Albarn to complete is the aptly titled Half a Song (from Democrazy, his 2003 vinyl-only double EP collection of solo demos). When he finally got around to revisiting it while working on this new Blur material, Half a Song became The Ballad, which opens the band’s latest set.

Albarn has also described The Ballad of Darren as an “aftershock record,” which resonates with The Ballad’s opening line: “I just looked into my life/ And all I saw was that you’re not coming back." He was undoubtedly deeply affected by the passing – in recent years – of Terry Hall, Bobby Womack, and Tony Allen (Albarn even named his pet Andalusian cockerel Tony after his The Good, the Bad & the Queen bandmate) as well as Blur’s long-time tour manager Craig Duffy and his partner Sue Parmiter, both of whom died in a car crash.

Throughout The Ballad of Darren, Blur fans can also expect to hear: Albarn’s trademark wistful vocals interspersed with some unhinged zaniness (those pantomime-esque “AAAAaaaah!”s in second single St Charles Square, though!); limber basslines courtesy of the criminally underrated Alex James; lashings of Graham Coxon’s exhilarating, serrated, circular riffs; and drummer Dave Rowntree excelling in his role as the band’s reliable anchor.

“It really is most unexpected,” James said of Blur’s new record during an interview. “We didn’t know we were pregnant, and we gave birth in the supermarket car park. It’s like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s a beautiful boy!’”

The Ballad

This downbeat, melancholy little number has drawn comparisons to Albarn’s second solo album, 2021’s The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows. “We travelled ‘round the world together” – here Albarn references Darren "Smoggy" Evans. The arrangement gradually builds from drum machine beats and gentle piano chords, to also incorporate lush vocal harmonies (Albarn and Coxon – such a magical, complementary blend!) and flurries of strings.

St Charles Square

“I f-cked up/ I’m not the first to do it” – clear contender for best opening couplet ever, or what?

We also love Albarn’s cheeky chuckle and raucous “OI!” at the top end of this one – St Charles Square is classic Blur and the band’s choice of opener during recent live shows. James is a fan of this rambunctious ditty, about which he said during the band’s aforementioned press conference: “The new song we open with I just thought, ‘Oh my God, we’ve pulled it back.’ I had a little moment. I did most of the bass lying down on a comfortable sofa, and it made me stand up, jump up and down. I kind of lost it. It was wonderful.”

“'Cause there's something down here/ And it's living under the floorboards (AAAAaaaah!)/ It's grabbed me 'round the neck with its long and slender claw” – Albarn is in full-blown zany mode on this one. Gotta love the following lyrical eye-roll moment as well: “‘Cause every generation has its gilded poseurs.” Albarn’s lyrics are always worth tuning into: “Tesco disco”? I mean, how grim can you get?

Some folks have been banging on about this song’s similarity to Bowie’s Up the Hill Backwards, but we personally reckon that’s a bit of a stretch. Coxon’s unhinged, ascending riffs dazzle throughout this playful, curious standout track.

Barbaric

Barbaric meanders like a carefree explorer. Drum machine beats, jaunty rim clicks, buoyant bass, sing-songy vocal melodies and more quality lyricism (eg. “Ah, you can’t play to every taste/ The powder keg of common cause”).

“And I’d like, if you’ve got the time/ To talk to you about/ What this breakup has done to me/ I have lost/ The feeling that I thought I’d never lose/ Now where am I going?” – during an interview, Albarn said these lyrics refer to a "very lonely Christmas" he recently experienced.

Russian Strings

Albarn penned this one – which closes out with a warped, metallic guitar solo – during a trip to Belgrade, where Gorillaz shot the music video for Silent Running (at the city’s High School of Electrical Engineering). Here he contemplates mortality: “There's nothing in the end, only dust/ So turn the music up/ I'm hitting the hard stuff.”

The Everglades (For Leonard)

“I recorded in a lot of [hotel] conference rooms, but I did actually have a wonderful moment in Montreal. Opposite my [hotel] room was this fantastic mural of Leonard Cohen," Albarn has said. “I just didn’t think about it; I wrote from the heart.”

Gorgeous guitar noodling, sustained strings and Albarn’s crestfallen timbre – what’s not to love?

The Narcissist

This album’s lead single really does seem to reflect on Blur’s career over a motorik rhythm: “Looked in the mirror/ So many people standing there/ I walked towards them/ Into the floodlights… I found my ego… Found my transcendence… Became addiction… But I won’t fall/ This time/ With Godspeed I’ll heed the signs…” – you get the picture. After sneakily building, this song’s conclusion spirals deep down into dirty, distorted riffs.

Goodbye Albert

The prolonged descent of those vocal melodies – so thrillingly Blur! Coxon’s glinting, circular, carnivalesque riffs own this track, which also features vocoded backing vocals and chugging synth. Then Goodbye Albert concludes with a heartbreaking plea: “Why don’t you talk to me anymore?/ Don’t punish me.”

Far Away Island

This song boasts a gorgeous, whimsical waltz tempo and bewitching harmonies that could convince us to do almost anything. Then Rowntree’s military-style drumming arrives around the one minute-mark. “I know you think I must be lost now/ But I’m not/ Anymore.” Coxon somehow makes his guitar solo sound like he’s playing underwater.

Avalon

Named after the mythical island featured in Arthurian legend, Avalon – with its grandiose brass parts – references Albarn’s permanent move to his home in a remote part of Devon: “What's the point in building Avalon/ If you can't be happy when it's done?”

He revealed during an interview: “Avalon is the most relatable to where I live now, in the deep countryside, but near the sea. Just this whole idea that you make that decision to relocate, and once you find yourself there on a dark night where there's no light whatsoever, and nobody in a two-mile radius, you have to be at peace with yourself. You created this fantasy world, so you have to be at peace within it. Otherwise, what's the point?"

The Heights

The opening acoustic guitar strums of this one gives us Space Oddity vibes. “I gave a lot of heart, so did you/ Standing in the back row, this one’s for you” – is Albarn addressing the fans who’ve stuck by Blur since day dot here? What sounds like entering an active beehive closes out this track and we’re left feeling like we’ve just had a brain exfoliation.

The Ballad of Darren by Blur is out now via Parlophone.