Review Summary: A ballad for the good times
Blur’s career has been one hell of a ride, both creatively and commercially. Going from shoegaze-influenced Madchester-worshipping boy squad in the late 80’s to Britain’s hot new artsy pop heroes in the mid 90’s the renowned London quartet changed and morphed constantly, dropping old fans and instantly recruiting new ones. For the most part, almost every change Blur brought to their sound was a welcomed one and paid off well.
Their seventh and thus far last full-length studio album “Think Tank” is no exception to the “constant change” rule. However, this time the task of meeting the band’s own high standards of quality was made uneasy by the departure of founding member, guitarist and secondary songwriter Graham Coxon – one of the more talented guitarists of his generation. His creative control within the band expanded vastly during the sessions for the self-titled record and on “13” Coxon was basically dominating. But a dispute among the band members led to Graham jumping the ship and Damon Albarn being for once in full control of not only songwriting but of all guitar parts as well.
Think Tank showcases Albarn’s fascination with electronica and African music, which, when incorporated into Blur’s creative core, provided for some genuinely pleasant results. For the most part Think Tank is a very laid-back, smooth and stylish record that sheds light melancholy, at times almost lulling the listener while also carrying steady bits to keep itself on feet. Tracks like “Ambulance”, “Brothers And Sisters”, “Caravan”, “Jets” sound very different from what Blur have done before and one can easily sense the influence of Damon’s acclaimed trip-hop side-project Gorillaz. Those tracks, albeit sometimes a tad repetitive, form a strong foundation for the record’s atmosphere, which is further enhanced by the likes of “Good Song” and “Sweet Song” that add shades of nostalgic sadness. A couple of tracks deserve to be mentioned separately: “Out Of Time” is a fantastic gloomy song, built around a memorable mean acoustic guitar riff, light percussion and an Eastern musical backdrop, creating a very vivid mood. “Battery In Your Leg”, the only song containing studio contribution from Graham Coxon, might be one of the most touching and personal ballads Blur have ever written and serves as perfect closer to Think Tank.
The albums is not without it’s flaws though, and they come in the form of “Crazy Beat” and “We’ve Got A File On You”. While not bad songs, those two track disrupt the flow of the album and feel like an attempt to capture some of the older Blur sound for fan service. I find “Crazy Beat” especially underwhelming, as it is clearly an attempt of re-writing the wildly-popular “Song 2” and thus is nothing new or very creative. “We’ve Got A File On You” is a bit more in-your-face and crazy, but it’s presence is still somewhat of a slap to the face while you take a nice warm bath: not very pleasant and definitely distracting.
Despite the aforementioned hiccups, “Think Tank” is a strong, atmospheric record that proved Blur to be capable of handling an album-worth of songwriting without a crucial member of the band. And with all the recent reunion shows and two new singles, there might be a hope, however vague, that we’ll see the continuation of Blur’s metamorphosis in album format.
