Blur: Classic Or Dud

the most charitable i can be towards 'ghost ship' is that it reminds me of when xtc would try something a bit wacky and it would go horrendously wrong

Yeah, 'Ghost Ship' is another one I'm not too keen on. I'd say 'Lonesome Street' and 'There Are Too Many Of Us' are my two big favourites from this record, the rest ranges from okay to being (to me) a bit on the dull side. I can understand why the hardcore Blur fans are getting excited about this record (after all, it's been such a long time since their last one), but I have to say I'm finding the positive critical reaction more than a little mystifying. I don't think there's anything here that stands out as something that one could comfortably file amongst their classics. It's possible that one or two moments on here may grow on me with time. However, for the moment it's just not doing it for me for the most part and I actually think Suede's Bloodsports was a much more successful comeback. I give it a high 2.5/5 to 3/5.

Part of the problem that I'm having with the record is that I'm finding a lot of the vocal melodies what Damon's singing to be a bit on the unengaging side, in pretty much a similar way to how I found parts of The Good, The Bad & The Queen and Everyday Robots unengaging. Some of the singing seems a bit ropey in places, too!

Bloodsports has one genuinely killer track (Faultlines) - the rest is a bit okayish, I thought. But doesn't seem like there's anything as good as Faultlines here.

Pyongyang, My Terracotta Heart, Thought I Was A Spaceman and Ghost Ship are exceptionally good songs

30 minute documentary on the album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG-2Vy5zZtU

to me this really seems to be like blur on autopilot. i always thought "modern life is rubbish" was their apex and "parklife" almost their nadir. this sounds like another "parklife" 20 years on, what a waste of time. maybe that's just me but i found the last damon albarn album much more interesting in terms of sound and songwriting.

has any band ever come back with their original line up after such a long spell away, and done anything better than only half decent? i mean.. maybe but not many leap to mind.

― piscesx, Tuesday, April 21, 2015 8:35 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

let me just add Polvo to the list

― meaty, desperate, and honest about the world we live in (ultros ultros-ghali), Tuesday, April 21, 2015 9:37 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

New drummer though!

I'm enjoying a lot of these songs in isolation, esp. Spaceman, There Are Too Many Of Us, Pyongyang, but my god, the album's a slog to get through as a whole.

I think it's the lack of variation in Damon's voice and the consistently slow pace of the songs. Even the fast ones seem to drag somehow.

Yeah, the track order is a bit all over the place and doesn't serve the record well in my opinion.

There's a Blur forum out there that's an absolute feast of hardcore fanboy LOLs surrounding this release. In particular, when Pitchfork had the sheer nerve to rate this album a 7.0(!) you could hear the collective hardcore fanboy explosion for miles around. It struck me as being more than a little over the top really, 7.0 isn't a bad score at all, and I actually think most of the reviews of this record (including Pitchfork's) have been a bit too generous.

Even Ned got a mention, I see, in this post!

Re: The Magic Whip Reviews
Post by AdvertBreak » 28 Apr 2015, 14:09

Maybe we should be glad they didn't get Ned Raggett to do it who has returned to them recently. Not only did he gives Wire's new s/t the same 7/10 but he hates Tender and IIRC he's not the biggest Blur fan.

I've listened to this once through. Don't agree with Alex In Manhattan - how does this sound anything like Parklife? Like imago says, every time it feels like it might be getting somewhere, it plunges back down into indistinct singing and workshop rhythms. You'd think that in all the time they'd been away, Blur would manage to pull together some songs, but this is so washy and nothingy. Maybe taken on its own terms, forgetting that this is Blur, maybe it's not so bad though?

Are they planning any singles from this at all? This sounds like what would have happened if Blur had made an entire album around 'Don't Bomb When You're The Bomb', possibly the weirdest single choice for a band of their stature at the time.

hang on, wiki says DBWYTB was a ltd edition 7"? I swear I saw it on CD and quite prominently on racks in HMV at the time...

oh that was music is my radar, which i can't even remember how it goes any more.

Metacritic should really take the three people posting prolifically in this thread into consideration

There's more than 3 people in this thread that have expressed disappointment with this record, and this thread isn't the only place on the internet where people are saying they're disappointed with it.

yeah but if the average reviews are positive, that's not metacritics' fault is it? that's down to reviewers being over generous.

genuinely think that if you like New World Towers you should be forced out of the crit game for life

'Ice Cream Man' surely must rank highly as one of the most annoying tracks ever to grace a Blur record.

amazing how such a B-sidey track is track 2.

it sounds no better than any of the tracks off the Gorillaz free Xmas Day giveaway album.

whatever the fuck that was called.

The Fall?

that's the fella.

the synths on this have to be the worst sounding on anything Damon's done except for maybe that

I'm enjoying a lot of these songs in isolation, esp. Spaceman, There Are Too Many Of Us, Pyongyang, but my god, the album's a slog to get through as a whole.

I think it's the lack of variation in Damon's voice and the consistently slow pace of the songs. Even the fast ones seem to drag somehow.

― Steve Reich In The Afternoon (Against The 80s)

This is so spot on for me. He sings in the exact same mopey style on almost every song. It doesn't sound like the same guy who sang so brilliantly on Parklife (The album) The three songs you picked are my highlights too.

Well, it has been 21 years since Parklife, but I agree... I'm not a big fan of the vocal style Damon's adopted on some of the tracks on here. That 'New World Towers', Everyday Robots, mopey, drifty, slow songs on The Good, The Bad & The Queen type of approach.

I was trying to order lunch today in Greenpoint and Blur came into the cafe and hounded the waitress to take their order which skipped right over me. I was there first... Then their tour manager asked me (for some reason) whether they were generally slow to bring food out because they had soundcheck to get to.

Somewhat hilariously, Anthony Fantano (alias "theneedledrop") gave The Magic Whip a 6 and mystified a great deal of Blur fans with his descriptions of the tracks. Turns out he was reviewing a fake leak comprising of old Blur B-sides and had to hastily re-do his review.

Oh man that's rich.

I'm finally listening to The Magic Whip. It's completely dud-free so far. I've just arrived at Ghost Ship as I type this, which got some undeserved slagging upthread. Y'all crazy. This song is delightful!!

Oh dang! Pyongyang is wonderful. Rippling guitar bits ftw!!

I have the japanese edition on order, it's not too expensive if you order direct.

There's an extra track, no doubt it's bobbins but we shall see.

I'm finally listening to The Magic Whip. It's completely dud-free so far. I've just arrived at Ghost Ship as I type this, which got some undeserved slagging upthread. Y'all crazy. This song is delightful!!

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, May 6, 2015 6:59 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wut!?

I'm listening to this for the second time. Was very underwhelmed on first listen, but that was on a minirig in the kitchen and this is on decent headphones. What I'm enjoying quite a lot this time around aren't so much the songs, which are still a bit insubstantial in theory, but the noises. Just these weird bursts of white hot guitar and keyboard blasting in and creating a strange musique concrete melody on tracks 2 & 3. I still wish these tunes were a bit more immediate and I miss Blur as a pop band. But taken on its own, almost trying to forget who's playing this music, it's a cool little avant-pop curio.

This is going to sound strange, given that they've pretty much just come out with a new record, but I find it hard to think of Blur as a "unit" these days. Every time I see a recent press picture of them, I see four individuals rather than a band. It's weird.

Finally heard this. I really hate the tinny toybox production and the meandering mid-tempo feel. I actually think "Ghost Ship" is the standout for me just for having a bit of a lope to it.

Ghost Ship is absolutely repulsive and makes me want to throttle Damon Albarn - clearly some of you are a bit more resistant to shitty whiteboy vibe music

I really like it as well, mostly due to all the noises.

Also, I spent ten minutes yesterday trying to figure out what 'Ong Ong' is supposed to mean, until I remembered where they recorded the thing...

Ghost Ship is lovely. It's one of the albums keepers for me along with There Are Too Many of us, Pyongyang and I thought I Was a Space Man.

I hate Ghost Ship. For me the quality of each song is on the x axis while the amount of Coxon input is on the y. Whenever I feel like I could be listening to another Albarn project I lose interest.

Somewhat hilariously, Anthony Fantano (alias "theneedledrop") gave The Magic Whip a 6 and mystified a great deal of Blur fans with his descriptions of the tracks. Turns out he was reviewing a fake leak comprising of old Blur B-sides and had to hastily re-do his review.

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Monday, May 4, 2015 2:18 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Anyone else ITT do this? Not me, oh no no....

it's hard to deduce who's dislike of the album is winning here, think it's going to take a few more months of analysis

This album is great. I hear it all around town in various shops and houses. Every track is a pleasure.

*sound of three sleeping giants awaking*

*sound of three sleeping giants awaking*

― PaulTMA, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 7:31 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You're seriously convinced that some of us have been lining up to slag this album off for the sake of it since the album was first announced, aren't you? I can't speak for the others, obviously, but I wanted to be able to file this record alongside their '90s classics, and I just can't. It's nothing to do with waiting in the wings for the album to come out only to slate it at the first opportunity just for the sake of it.

hey, I think this has two good songs on it

I think it has its highlights too, but I'm just not convinced by the whole.

I wish you guys liked it more, but to each their own. I'm super into it. One of my favorite records of 2015, and one of my favorite Blur records.