BLUR レコード& CD

Review: Blur were always the posh, private school answer to the more streetwise cool of Oasis during the heyday of Brit pop during the mid to late 90s. Their second album Modern Life Is Rubbish got them back into the affections of the public after their debut album somewhat turned people off (with many thinking it was a cash in on the popular but fading Manchester sound) and saw the band fall behind the likes of Suede. Part of the raisin for the return to success was the sonic makeover which brought more tradition guitar-pop sounds back with lush melodies and poignant humour in the lyrics from lead singer Damon Albarn. On its 30th anniversary the album now gets a full reissue as part of National Album Day 2023

Review: It's funny to think about the Blur v Oasis contest that defined British music in the mid-1990s. Then bright young things looking to shake things up after years of electronic rave dominance, the fact so much emphasis was placed on these two bands makes for an incomplete story of those times, while their individual output was not quite polar but certainly harder to compare than headlines suggested. Skip forward a few decades and differences are now pronounced. The Gallagher Brothers have pursued relatively familiar sounds in the 21st Century. Blur, or at least Damon Albarn, created a 3D animated virtual band while overseeing the first few editions of the globally acclaimed Manchester International Festival. Now, 33 years after the debut single, Blur return with studio LP number nine, and it's a stunner. Not so much growing old gracefully as tackling challenges that come with it, it's though proving, poignant and grittily woozy.

Review: Ah Liam Gallagher - a man who never seems to grow old or fully out of touch. Well, depending on your opinions on absolutely everything, of course. The Manchester icon and former-Oasis enfant terrible has spoken from his heart on a range of subjects, from "dance music can fuck right off" to "I am not an entertainer", and understandably his off-the-cuff honesty resonates with both the die hard disciples and sceptics alike. Simply put, nobody can accuse him of not wearing heart on sleeve.

In many ways, that approach guides his latest solo offering, C'Mon You Know. Back in February 2022, three months before this record's release, he told NME "I'm quite happy with the formula... I look cool. I sound good. I talk from the heart." If that's not evidence we're not ranting rubbish we don't know what is. As for the record's sound, think timeless British indie that has one foot in a 1990s glory era of British rock 'n' roll, and another in li-fi contemporary noise, all delivered with operatic drama.