Dave Rowntree names the best Blur album “by quite a long way”

nme.com:

Dave Rowntree has reflected on Blur’s discography, and named the album he thinks is the band’s strongest “by quite a long way”.During a new interview the drummer had with Super Deluxe Edition, the drummer looked back at the huge milestones the band have accumulated over the past year – including their two massive shows at London’s Wembley Stadium, and the release of their brand new documentary, Blur: To The End.In the discussion, Rowntree elaborated on how the members took a similar approach to their reunion shows as they did on their latest album, 2023’s ‘The Ballad Of Darren’.“There was a conscious decision to strip things back, both on the tour and ‘The Ballad Of Darren’.

In the shows, we didn’t have a string section and we only had a choir on ‘Tender’,” he explained.“We didn’t have brass or the other things that make a bigger sound and can artificially enhance everything.

There’s nothing wrong with that and we’ve done it in the past, but we took the decision not to do that this time. We wanted to say those things in other ways, so there was lots more singing, trying to find other ways of filling out the sound to make it bigger.”This – paired with a sense of “anxiety” about going into the studio for the first time since their 2015 album ‘The Magic Whip’ – helped make the project into what he sees as their best to date.“I’m so disparaging when other musicians of a certain age say this of their recent work, but I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done, and by quite a long way,” Rowntree continued.“But I’m very well aware most middle-aged popstars think their latest album is their best work by far, and that most of them are deluding themselves.