{"product_id":"blur-the-ballad-of-darren","title":"Blur - The Ballad of Darren","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlur - The Ballad of Darren\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is a brand new \/ sealed vinyl record unless otherwise stated.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eColored Vinyl (Barnes and Noble)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEarly on in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Ballad%20of%20Darren\"\u003eThe Ballad of Darren\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the unexpected and understated \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Blur\"\u003eBlur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e reunion album, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Damon%20Albarn\"\u003eDamon Albarn\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e sings \"We have lost the feeling that we thought we'd never lose,\" a line that could easily be interpreted as the vocalist addressing his bandmates. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Blur\"\u003eBlur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e lost an intangible feeling during an acrimonious split in the early 2000s, the band limping forward after the departure of guitarist \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Graham%20Coxon\"\u003eGraham Coxon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e during the sessions for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Think%20Tank\"\u003eThink Tank\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Within a few years, the group tended to their lingering wounds, healing enough to play the occasional reunion concert, a union that eventually led to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Magic%20Whip\"\u003eThe Magic Whip\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, a happy accident of an album. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Ballad%20of%20Darren\"\u003eThe Ballad of Darren\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is something entirely different. Where \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Coxon\"\u003eCoxon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e crafted \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Magic%20Whip\"\u003eThe Magic Whip\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e from studio jams the band left behind after a week exiled in Hong Kong, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Blur\"\u003eBlur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003erecorded \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Ballad%20of%20Darren\"\u003eThe Ballad of Darren\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e as a unit within the studio, shaping and coloring compositions \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Albarn\"\u003eAlbarn\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e wrote while on tour with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Gorillaz\"\u003eGorillaz\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in 2022. It's how \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Blur\"\u003eBlur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e made records back in the '90s but, notably, the group replaced their mainstay \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Stephen%20Street\"\u003eStephen Street\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewith \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/James%20Ford\"\u003eJames Ford\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, a producer who has worked with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Arctic%20Monkeys\"\u003eArctic Monkeys\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Florence%20and%20the%20Machine\"\u003eFlorence and the Machine\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, not to mention \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Gorillaz\"\u003eGorillaz\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Ford\"\u003eFord\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e teases out the louche, loungey aspects of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Albarn\"\u003eAlbarn\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e's songs, lending a lushness to the melancholy undercurrents that flow through \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Ballad%20of%20Darren\"\u003eThe Ballad of Darren\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Apart from \"St. Charles Square,\" which announces itself with a flurry of guitar skronk and profanity, there's no direct evocation of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Blur\"\u003eBlur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e's younger days; far from conjuring the ghost of the melodramatic \"To the End,\" the hints of hi-fi sophistication lend weary texture to melodies that sigh and linger. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Albarn\"\u003eAlbarn\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e spends the album pondering severed connections and vanished spaces, sentiments that could be read either as mourning a personal loss or as a meditation on a post-pandemic world, yet \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Ballad%20of%20Darren\"\u003eThe Ballad of Darren\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e doesn't feel precisely sad, not in the way \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Damon\"\u003eDamon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e's solo albums often can. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Blur\"\u003eBlur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e gives \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Albarn\"\u003eAlbarn\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e's songs depth and dimension, as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Graham%20Coxon\"\u003eGraham Coxon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003edecorates the margins left by the elastic rhythms of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Alex%20James\"\u003eAlex James\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Dave%20Rowntree\"\u003eDave Rowntree\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Magic%20Whip\"\u003eThe Magic Whip\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e hinted at the essence of this chemistry but \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/The%20Ballad%20of%20Darren\"\u003eThe Ballad of Darren\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e revels in it, resulting in an album that feels age-appropriate without being stodgy: it's mature and nuanced, cherishing the connections that once were taken for granted but now seem precious. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"tab-mobile-heading d-block d-lg-none ada-custom-button\" aria-expanded=\"true\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003eTracks\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tab-mobile-content d-lg-none\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"productInfo-tracks\" class=\"content expandable-section\"\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"music-tracks\"\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"1\"\u003eThe Ballad\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"2\"\u003eSt. Charles Square\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"3\"\u003eBarbaric\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"4\"\u003eRussian Strings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"5\"\u003eThe Everglades (For Leonard)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"6\"\u003eThe Narcissist\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"7\"\u003eGoodbye Albert\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"8\"\u003eFar Away Island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"9\"\u003eAvalon\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli value=\"10\"\u003eThe Heights\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003c\/article\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plaka.MNL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50483415941435,"sku":null,"price":2199.0,"currency_code":"PHP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0702\/2972\/1403\/files\/1E9E48F8-B98D-4CEF-BA5F-7EE96F89CA4F.png?v=1754477670","url":"https:\/\/plakamnl.com\/products\/blur-the-ballad-of-darren","provider":" Plaka.MNL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}