Blur have announced their new album: The Ballad of Darren arrives July 21 via Parlophone. The follow-up to 2015’s The Magic Whip is led by the single ‘The Narcissist’, which you can check out below, along with the record’s cover artwork (featuring an image by photographer Martin Parr) and tracklist.
“This is an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now,” Damon Albarn said in a press release. His bandmates shared statements on the record, too:
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.”
In addition to playing this year’s Primavera Sound, Blur are set to perform two headline shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in July.
The Ballad of Darren Cover Artwork:
The Ballad of Darren 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