Blur - The Ballad of Darren

Starts much stronger than it finishes.

Blur - The Magic Whip

Britpop heavyweights Blur make an enjoyable and varied return with The Magic Whip.

Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots

Damon Albarn's latest record may be slightly passionless and relentlessly dreary, but he delivers some stand-out songs throughout the tracklist here.

Blur- "The Puritan" & "Under the Westway"

There's no question about it: Blur is back! While it may be a while before Damon Albarn works to release another Gorillaz album, it's great that he's diversifying his repertoire with a solo album, production on that Bobby Womack album, and now these new tracks that are set for a 7" release in August.

Album titles and release dates aren't being discussed yet, but hopefully that's coming soon.

To talk about the two tracks individually, "the Puritan" has a quirky, fun beat that I'm sure most people are going to directly link to a Gorillaz tune or two. The fat, bouncy synths are a playful addition to the track, and Albarn's personality on the song is captivating as usual. "Under the Westway" is the show-stopping, though. A beautiful piano ballad that's structured in the same way more great piano ballads are structured. While Albarn and co. aren't afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves with this track, the track goes over well with some very dramatic choruses. I'd love to hear where these guys take it after this.

Moonface- "Teary Eyes And Bloody Lips"

A haunting stop-motion video has been released to accompany the Moonface track "Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips." The video fits the songs lyrics and melody well, featuring many empty and desolate locales. Using static backgrounds the stop emotion effect makes these still images still feel lively by having an object moving through them along with heavy use of blur and after image. There is a great use of filters as much of the beautiful scenery is made to look darker and hold some more significant meaning.

Look for Heartbreaking Bravery April 17th or listen to the full album at The A.V Club http://www.avclub.com/articles/stream-moonfaces-with-siinai-heartbreaking-bravery,72120/