Blur - The Ballad of Darren (2023)

Blur - The Ballad of Darren (2023)

Tracklist front / back album covers

1. "The Ballad"   3:37

2. "St. Charles Square"   3:55

3. "Barbaric"   4:09

4. "Russian Strings"   3:38

5. "The Everglades (For Leonard)"   2:56

6. "The Narcissist"   4:05

7. "Goodbye Albert"   4:17

8. "Far Away Island"   2:58

9. "Avalon"   3:05

10. "The Heights"   3:24

Total length:   36:04

Deluxe CD bonus tracks

11. "The Rabbi"   2:44

12. "The Swan"   3:42

Total length:   42:30

Japanese bonus track

13. "Sticks and Stones"   3:24

 

Blur Band Members / Musicians

Damon Albarn – vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano

Graham Coxon – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Sticks and Stones"

Alex James – bass guitar

Dave Rowntree – drums, backing vocals

James Ford – keyboards (tracks 1–6, 8, 10)

Izzi Dunn – cello (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10)

Ciara Ismail – viola (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10)

Kotono Sato – violin (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10)

Sarah Tuke – violin (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10)

Alistair White – trombone (9)

Nichol Thompson – trombone (9)

Chris Storr – trumpet (9)

Danny Marsden – trumpet (9)

James Ford – production

Samuel Egglenton – additional production, engineering

Matt Colton – mastering

David Wrench – mixing

Mat Bartram – strings engineering (1, 5, 7, 8, 10), brass engineering (9)

Grace Banks – mixing assistance (1, 2, 4–10)

Giacomo Vianello – engineering assistance (1–3, 5–10)

Luke Pickering – engineering assistance (1, 3, 8–10)

The Ballad of Darren is the 9th studio album by English rock band Blur. It was released on 21 July 2023 by Parlophone and Warner Records. The album's songs were written by frontman Damon Albarn in 2022 while on tour with Gorillaz, and composed by Albarn and the rest of the band. It was produced by James Ford at Studio 13 in London and Devon. It is Blur's first album since The Magic Whip (2015), and their shortest album, with a runtime under 40 minutes. The album's artwork features a 2004 photograph of a man swimming alone in the Gourock Outdoor Pool in Gourock, Scotland, taken by Martin Parr. Its title refers to Darren "Smoggy" Evans, the band's longtime bodyguard.

The Ballad of Darren was released to positive reviews. It became the band's seventh consecutive number one album debut in the UK. It also topped the charts in Belgium, Ireland, Scotland and Switzerland, and became the band's first US Top 10 album on the Top Album Sales chart, reaching #8. The album was promoted by the singles "The Narcissist", "St. Charles Square" and "Barbaric", as well as a global tour.