Blur "The Ballad of Darren" (2023)

The Ballad of Darren

release date: Jul. 21, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: James Ford

label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 3. "Barbaric" - 2. "St. Charles Square" - 4. "Russian Strings" - 6. "The Narcissist" - 7. "Goodbye Alert" - 10. "The Heights"

9th studio album by Blur marks a long-awaited reunion following more than eight years after The Magic Whip (Apr. 2015), which then was another reunion album following 12 years after Think Tank (May 2003). The Ballad... is produced by James Ford, who has made a name for his work with e.g. Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets, and in this context: for his work on albums by Gorillaz. The band remains intact and all tracks are credited the band of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree. Together with Gorillaz, Albarn released Cracker Island (Feb. 2023), and basically, Blur now appears as just another brain-child of Albarn's. Blur is still something else, and markedly different from albums by Gorillaz, but there are apparent similarities with the music by the Albarn-led project The Good, The Bad & The Queen (e.g. "Goodbye Alert" and "Far Away Island"), who most recently - as of Nov. 2018 released Merrie Land.

The album was met by positive reviews - I didn't immediately embrace it as an improvement, and frankly thought of it as on par with the band's 2015 album, but one year down road, I consider it better than my initial verdict. It's not up there among the best by Blur but it surely has its moments, and Coxon is a most treasured guarantee in delivering classic Blur guitar-riffs, which securely puts it somewhere in the middle on the Blur shelf.

[ 👎allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Mojo, NME, 👍Pitchfork 7,2 / 10 stars ]

Caroline Polachek "Desire, I Want to Turn Into You" (2023)

Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

release date: Feb. 14, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,86]

producer: Caroline Polachek & Danny L Harle

label: Perpetual Novice - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Welcome to My Island" - 4. "Sunset" - 6. "I Believe"

4th studio album by Caroline (Elizabeth) Polachek and her second album under her given name. After releasing three albums with synthpop band Chairlift from 2008 to 2016, Polachek focussed on her solo career, which she had already initiated while being in Chairlift, and she released her solo debut Arcadia (Apr. 2014) under the name of Ramona Lisa. Her second solo Drawing the Target Around the Arrow (Jan. 2017) under the name CEP (abbreviation of her name), and preceeding her 2023 album she released Pang in Oct. 2019.

Both the albums by Chairlift and her solo releases have generally been met by quite positive reviews, and also gained public acclaim. Polachek's newest album is by some regarded as one the best albums of 2023, but I'm not really a huge fan. Yes, the production is state of the art top-notch, and there's much positive energy in most of her songs - it's just... all heard before, isn't it!? I guess I'm not part of her target fan base and all but still, I simply cannot come to terms with much of the new synthpop and indie pop artists, who spit out new songs that showcase the same arrangements, the same instrumentation, the same song structures, and similar soundscapes! I know Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé, Drake, Taylor Swift, etc. all make different kinds of music, but to me, they nevertheless showcase a common strategy of producing music that loans heavily on pre-made music - whether it's music by themselves or others making some of the same 'generic' pop. It leaves me indifferent - at best! But mostly, it only makes me change radio channel or give me an urge to hear something... substantial. Something worthwhile. I don't care how many copies they sell or how many awards they are awarded. I currently don't know anything about Chairlift, or Polachek's earlier albums, and frankly, this album doesn't make me one bit curious. And that's regardless the good reviews their albums received.

Not recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com, Clash 4,5 / 5, 🙉PopMatters 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, 👍NME 3 / 5 stars ]