(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)
Artist: Blur
Album Title: The ballad of Darren
Year released: 2023
Details: 180 gram, blue
The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ve been replaying my top five albums from 2023, albeit in a ‘vinyl love’ post format, every weekend in January and just into February; partially because I love these albums and partially because I have them all on vinyl and want to show off their physical beauty as well. I’ve already shared albums five, four, and three, and today is my second favourite album of 2023. It is an album by one of my all-time favourite bands, reunited once again, producing something beyond expectations. “The ballad of Darren” feels like the culmination of everything Blur has done over the years. It is the sound of a band playing music together and for themselves. This 9th album doesn’t feel like a climax, or like a swansong, and yet, if this does turn out to be the last Blur record, I don’t think we’d have any cause at all to complain. I knew I would purchase it for my vinyl shelves, even before I’d heard the excellent song below, but hearing it cemented things. I was actually away from home on vacation the week it was released but I made sure to stop in at an indie record store in the city I was staying and wouldn’t you know, they just happened to have a copy for me to rescue. And on blue vinyl too!
Standout track: “The narcissist”
My (life in) music lists 