Blur - Parklife

Fri 3rd Dec, 2004 in Music Reviews

It’s hard to write a review while singing along at the top of your lungs and every so often getting up for a dance, but it can’t be helped with some albums, especially one as beguiling and entertaining as Blur’s Parklife. This album is a decade old this year, but it is still as fresh, charming and quirky to listen to now as it was back in ‘94.

The opening disco-imbued tune of Girls and Boys will leave you shouting ‘Girls! Boys! Boys! Girls!’ maniacally, while track three, End of A Century, inspires the need to croon. Parklife transitions from straightforward Britpop, Tracy Jacks to pop-punk Bank Holiday flawlessly, with much mirth and witty observation along the way.

Phil Daniels is the guest narrator of Parklife the single, and plays the role of an arrogant, wry suburbanite making observations of every day life. The humorous portrayal of the mundane is also illustrated in London Loves, which describes the city’s fascination with the misery of others, while the soulful Badhead is about accepting living in a rut for the sake of keeping the peace.

Track seven is instrumental track The Debt Collector and sounds like a walk down sideshow alley, with a dizzying melody and carnivalesque atmosphere.

To The End’s French lyrics are sung by Leititia Sadler of Stereolab. Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s vocals are at their finest as he soars through this song, which would fit perfectly into a Broadway musical.

Bassist Alex James is the voice behind the psychedelic Far Out, an ode to the moons of our solar system that culminates and fades away with the repetition and distortion of the word ‘Sun’.

This Is a Low is humourless and intense – a skillful departure from the otherwise light-heartedness of the album. The lyrics are eerie and depressing, and Albarn truly sounds like someone who has hit rock bottom. The song cleverly uses meteorological terms as metaphors for depression: “This is a low, but it won’t hurt you; when you’re alone, it will be there with you”. Guitarist (ex-guitarist as of late 2002) Graham Coxon’s droning guitar arrangement creates an atmosphere of angst and wistfulness and makes for a potent instrumental break.

Parklife is the ultimate showcase of Blur’s creativity and diversity. There’s nothing else like it.