Blur have unveiled a new single titled ‘Sticks And Stones’, taken from their latest album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’. The track follows ‘The Rabbi’ and ‘The Swan’ from the album’s deluxe edition, and will be featured as a bonus track on the Japanese exclusive edition.
Guitarist Graham Coxon provides lead vocals to the track, which has a mid-tempo beat with a psychedelic feel. The song is centered around the lyrics “It’s written over my face / No sleep zone / Open up my suitcase / Sticks and stones”.
The album was released on July 21, debuting to critical acclaim. NME noted that Blur “have never officially split, but each time they re-emerge it’s as if we’re rekindling a long-estranged affair” and that the album “has something resolute and life-affirming in the way this record plays out”.
The band recently headlined Øya 2023, where they blended their new material with classic hits. They impressed the audience with their “well-oiled machine running on boisterous festival fuel and artfully selected sideways moves”.
Lead singer Damon Albarn recently spoke out on artificial intelligence, branding it “absurd”. He went on to say that “anyone who has so much time to sing songs through a Michael Buble filter and put them on the internet is a fucking idiot”.
In other news, Blur’s bassist Alex James has launched his own brand of sparkling wine, ‘Britpop Brut by Alex James’. It’s a chardonnay-based blend made in the UK, exclusively available on August 12 through Laithwaites for £25 a bottle.
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