Blur - Blur (1997)

All I know about Blur is "Song 2" which became freakin' huge when I was in high school. Supposedly it isn't the only song the band ever made, which I really thought might have been the case because no one back then could name another song by the band. And I was in a group of people who would probably listen to Blur. Not that I asked. Maybe I've heard tons of Blur songs in my life and have completely failed to associate them with the band. We shall see.

"Beetlebum" gives me hope that this album won't be a big pile of crap. Needless to say I don't have a high opinion of 90s rock. "Beetlebum" is deeply rooted in grunge- the guitars are noisy with a tinge of angst. The vocals are softer and wistful. The arrangement is full of slightly off-beat overdubs which adds a nice color to the proceedings.

The second track is cleverly called "Song 2", and trust me if you're reading this review you've heard it and could probably sing along even if you don't know any of the actual words. If you think you haven't heard it, go to a football or hockey game. Odds are "Song 2" will come on at some point.

What I'm getting from Blur so far is a band that likes exploring multiple styles and applying their brand of weirdness. "Country Sad Ballad Man" is a swampy twangy blues ballad. "M.O.R." has a bit of the flavor from and old surfer tune. "On Your Own" features a synth track straight off a Pete Townshend record. There's lots of wandering and noise on each song, but they stay well grounded by a solid rhythm section.

"Theme From Retro" is a bit of a cluttered mess. There's hardly a theme to the song. It's more just a bunch of distortion on top of a washed-out drumkit and haunted organ riff. "You're So Great" is a sort of throwback with its full acoustic progression, and would be pretty awesome if only the vocals weren't wrecked with that scratchy noise. "Death of a Party" has a great dark sound. I am noticing that Blur doesn't know how to end a song, so the songs tend to be stretched out a bit by instrumentals that do nothing. They should have just faded out. Of course I wrote that and "I'm Just A Killer For Your Love" does feature a fade out... which lasts about a minute long. Sometimes I can't win.

The album closes with a lengthy instrumental. It didn't need to be 6 minutes long. It could have been 2 minutes and gotten the point across. There's also a semi-hidden track on the very end. Overall Blur was pretty good and some neat sonic ideas, but it is a bit padded. What did I give Dust? I think it was 3 stars. That sounds about right.