The past few years have been on-again, off-again on the Blur front. 2009 saw the band reunite for a series of "comeback" shows, but little more than that in terms of follow up. Then 2010 saw the release of "Fool's Day" for Record Store Day, the band's first new material in seven years. Finally, 2012 saw the band committing to a performance at the London Olympics, and hinting at new material. And yet, all the while, Damon Albarn simultaneously was confirming or denying the band's continued existence, depending what media source you chose to believe.
Well, now little of that matters, because the day has arrived: the band has dropped two new singles (videos with lyrics above) entitled "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan", and if you're even a little bit of a Blur loyalist, you will not be disappointed. The first track is a classic Blur ballad, along the lines of "The Universal", but incorporating some of the scratchy guitar sounds the band discovered on 13. The second song is even more "classic" Blur in its feel, recalling the bouncy brit-pop of the band's earliest days on Modern Life Is Rubbish.
All of this confirms what fans have known all along: that the band are more than able to create amazing new work, and that it's a bit of a travesty that they've been silent for so long. Seeing them play the two tracks live (still streamable here) was a dream come true, and their chemistry is undeniable. Given that, we can't wait to see them perform at the Olympics, but moreover, we can only hope and pray that the experience will push them to at least take one last stab at creating another brilliant record.
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