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Blur Announce New Album, Share New Song “The Narcissist”

The Ballad of Darren Due Out July 21 via Parlophone

May 18, 2023

Britpop icons Blur have announced a new album, The Ballad of Darren, and shared its first single, “The Narcissist.” More

May 03, 2023

Swedish electro-pop band Little Dragon have announced a new album, Slugs of Love, and have shared a new song from it, “Kenneth,” via an animated music video. Slugs of Love features Damon Albarn on one song. More

Gorillaz Share New Single “Skinny Ape,” Announce Two Live Performances

Cracker Island Due Out February 24, 2023 via Parlophone

Dec 08, 2022

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new single, “Skinny Ape.” The song will be performed live by the band at 2:30 pm ET on December 17th in Times Square and 14:00 GMT on December 18th in Piccadilly Circus. Directed by Jamie Hewlett and Fx Goby, the ‘Skinny Ape’ performances are created by Nexus Studios and utilize Google’s ARCore Geospatial API, using AR to transform public spaces. More

Jun 22, 2022

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new song, “Cracker Island.” It features Thundercat and right now is a standalone single. More

Gorillaz Announce North American Tour

Tickets Go On Sale This Friday

May 16, 2022

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have announced a North American tour for fall 2022. Tickets will go on sale this Friday (May 20) at 10 a.m. local time. More

Watch Damon Albarn Perform “Darkness to Light” on “Jimmy Fallon”

The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows Out Now via Transgressive

Nov 15, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz recently performed new album song “Darkness to Light” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Albarn’s latest album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, came out last Friday via Transgressive. More

Damon Albarn – Stream the New Album and Read Our Review of It

The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows Out Now via Transgressive

Nov 12, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is releasing a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, on November 12 via Transgressive. Now that it’s out, you can stream the whole thing here. Also, today we posted our review of the album. More

Damon Albarn Shares New Song “The Tower of Montevideo” (Plus Watch a Live Performance Video)

Also Watch Him Perform Blur’s “This Is a Low” from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

Oct 14, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is releasing a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, on November 12 via Transgressive. Now he has shared its fifth single, the horn-backed “The Tower of Montevideo.” He’s also shared a separate video where he performs the song live with his backing band. Also, Albarn recently performed a show at London’s iconic Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and has shared a video from the show of him playing Blur’s “This Is a Low,” from the band’s 1994 album, Parklife, as well as “The Moon Exalted” from his 2012 album/opera soundtrack Dr Dee and “Royal Mountain Blue” from the new album. More

Damon Albarn Shares New Song “Royal Morning Blue” (Plus Watch a Live Performance Video)

The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows Due Out November 12 via Transgressive

Sep 22, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is releasing a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, on November 12 via Transgressive. Now he has shared its fourth single, “Royal Mountain Blue.” He’s also shared a separate video where he performs the song live with his backing band. More

11 Best Songs of the Week: Silverbacks, POND, Bachelor, Beak>, and More

Plus Damon Albarn, Proper., Suuns, The Dodos, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Sep 03, 2021

Welcome to the 33rd Songs of the Week of 2021. We liked enough new songs this week to form a Top 11. More

Damon Albarn Shares New Song “Particles” (Plus Watch a Live Performance Video for the Song)

The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows Due Out November 12 via Transgressive

Sep 01, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is releasing a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, on November 12 via Transgressive. Now he has shared its third single, the haunted ballad “Particles.” He’s also shared a separate video where he performs the song live with his backing band. More

Gorillaz Share New EP “Meanwhile”

Featuring Artists AJ Tracey, Jelani Blackman, Barrington Levy, and Alicai Harley

Aug 26, 2021

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new three-track EP titled Meanwhile after performing all three songs at a live concert at O2 Arena in London two weeks ago. The EP features guest appearances by artists AJ Tracey, Jelani Blackman, Barrington Levy, and Alicai Harley. More

11 Best Songs of the Week: Courtney Barnett, The Goon Sax, Strand of Oaks, Damon Albarn, and More

Plus Nation of Language, Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 09, 2021

Welcome to the 26th Songs of the Week of 2021. The American music industry pretty took Monday off due to Sunday’s July 4th holiday, so we expected slimmer pickings this week. It was not to be, thanks for some exciting album announcements. We settled on a Top 11 this week. More

Damon Albarn Shares New Song “Polaris” (Plus Watch a Live Performance Video for the Song)

The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows Due Out November 12 via Transgressive

Jul 06, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is releasing a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, on November 12 via Transgressive. Now he has shared its second single, “Polaris.” He’s also shared a separate video where he performs the song live with his backing band. More

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz Announces New Solo Album, Shares New Song

The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows Due Out November 12 via Transgressive; Listen to the Title Track

Jun 22, 2021

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz has announced a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, and shared its title track. More

Paul McCartney Shares Remix of “Slidin’” By Ed O’Brien of Radiohead

McCartney III Imagined Due Out April 16 on Capitol

Apr 08, 2021

Paul McCartney is releasing McCartney III Imagined on April 16 via Capitol. It features remixes and covers of songs from McCartney’s 2020 album, McCartney III. Now he has shared a remix of the album’s “Slidin’” done by Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien (who also releases solo music under the name EOB). More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Mdou Moctar, Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth, St. Vincent, and More

Plus Sons of Kemet, CHAI, Storefront Church, POND, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Apr 02, 2021

Welcome to the 12th Songs of the Week of 2021. In the nation was gripped (or more accurately, traumatized) by the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd. More

Apr 01, 2021

Sylvern Mathurin, also known as Poté, has announced his new album A Tenuous Tale of Her, which will be coming out on June 4 via Outlier. He has also shared a new song “Young Lies,” which features Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), with contributions by Gorillaz producer Remy Kabaka Jr. More

Gorillaz Share Video for New Song “The Pink Phantom” (Feat. Elton John and 6LACK)

Song Machine: Season One - Strange Timez Due Out October 23

Oct 01, 2020

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new song, “The Pink Phantom,” via a video for it. The song and video features Elton John and 6BLACK. It’s episode seven of their Song Machine video series. Watch it below. More

Jul 20, 2020

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new song, “PAC-MAN,” via a video for it. The song and video features Schoolboy Q. It’s episode five of their Song Machine video series. More

Jun 09, 2020

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new song, “Friday 13th,” via a video for it. The song and video features French-British rapper and singer Octavian. It’s episode four of their Song Machine video series. More

Watch Damon Albarn and 2-D of Gorillaz Perform “Aries” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Billed As the First Ever Duet Between Albarn and One of the Virtual Members of the Band

May 20, 2020

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz were the musical guest on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! While the animated members of the band are usually front and center, this time Albarn performed their recent single “Aries” as a duet with his virtual doppelgänger 2-D. More

Jan 30, 2020

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz have shared a new song, “Momentary Bliss,” that features slowthai and Slaves, via a video for the track. It’s also the first episode of their Song Machine video series. More

Jun 12, 2019

Multicultural collective Africa Express, which was spearheaded by Damon Albarn, are releasing a new album, EGOLI, on July 12 via Africa Express Records. Now they have shared another song from it, “City in Lights.” The song features British singer Georgia, Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Mahotella Queens, and Otim Alpha. More

May 10, 2019

Multicultural collective Africa Express, which was spearheaded by Damon Albarn, have announced a new album, EGOLI, and shared its first single, “Johannesburg,” which features vocals by Gruff Rhys (Welsh frontman of Super Furry Animals), alongside other featured artists Morena Leraba, Radio 123, and Sibot. More

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen Share Black & White Video for “The Truce of Twilight”

Merrie Land Out Now via Studio 13; Video Directed by the Band’s Paul Simonon

Mar 12, 2019

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen released their long-awaited sophomore album, Merrie Land, last November via Studio 13. Now the band has shared a video for “The Truce of Twilight.” The band features Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, Paul Simonon (of The Clash), and Simon Tong (of The Verve). Simonon directed the video. More

7 Best Songs of the Week: Karen O and Danger Mouse, Mercury Rev and Margo Price, and More

Plus Ryley Walker; The Good, The Bad, & The Queen; The Twilight Sad; and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Nov 16, 2018

This the closest we’ve come in awhile to skipping Songs of the Week due to a lack of truly worthy songs. But we were able to at least come up with a Top 7 (as opposed to our usual Top 10), even if it includes two covers and two album tracks. One thing that saved it was our #1 song, which was released this morning. More

Album of the Week: The Good, The Bad, & The Queen

Merrie Land Out Now via Studio 13

Nov 16, 2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen released their long-awaited sophomore album, Merrie Land, today via Studio 13 and it’s our Album of the Week. More

Nov 16, 2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen have released their long-awaited sophomore album, Merrie Land, today via Studio 13. Now that the album is out, you can stream the whole thing here. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: The Good, The Bad, & The Queen; Piroshka; Cherry Glazerr; and More

Plus Murray A. Lightburn, Julia Jacklin, Nilüfer Yanya, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Nov 09, 2018

There might still be nearly two months left in 2018, but 2019 album announcements have been coming hard and fast of late. The Top 10 of this week’s Songs of the Week is packed with first and second singles from albums due out next January or February, although not our #1, that album is due out next week. More

Nov 05, 2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen are releasing their long-awaited sophomore album, Merrie Land, on November 16. Now they have shared another song from the album, “Gun to the Head,” via a video for the song that features a man pretending to be a puppet as he sings the song. The band features Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, Paul Simonon (of The Clash), and Simon Tong (of The Verve). More

Oct 31, 2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen are releasing their long-awaited sophomore album, Merrie Land, on November 16. Previously they shared its title track (which was one of our Songs of the Week). Now the super-group has stopped by the BBC music show Later… with Jools Holland to perform “Merrie Land.” The band features Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, Paul Simonon (of The Clash), and Simon Tong (of The Verve). More

Oct 23, 2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen have announced their long-awaited sophomore album, Merrie Land, and shared its title track. The band features Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, Paul Simonon (of The Clash), and Simon Tong (of The Verve). More

Stream the New Album by Gorillaz – “The Now Now”

The Now Now Out Now via Warner Bros.

Jun 29, 2018

Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz released a new album, The Now Now, today via Warner Bros. Now that it’s out, you can stream the whole thing here. More

Jun 21, 2018

Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz are releasing a new album, The Now Now, on June 29 via Warner Bros. Now they have shared another song from the album, “Hollywood,” which features Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle. Listen below via a “visualiser” video for the song that features Snoop Dogg, followed by Gorillaz’s upcoming tour dates. More

Gorillaz Announce New Album, Share Jack Black Featuring Video for “Humility (Feat. George Benson)”

The Now Now Due Out June 29 via Warner Bros., They Have Also Shared "Lake Zurich"

May 31, 2018

Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz released a new album, Humanz, just over a year ago, but now they are already returning with another new album, The Now Now. There have been Internet rumblings about the album in the last week, but now the album has been officially announced and the cartoon band has shared two tracks from it, album opener “Humility” (which features the great jazz guitarist George Benson) and “Lake Zurich,” which is a near instrumental track. More

Apr 24, 2017

Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz are releasing a new album, Humanz, this Friday (April 28) via Warner Bros. and now they have shared another song from it, “The Apprentice,” mere days before the album’s release date. The track features Rag’n'Bone Man, Zebra Katz, and RAY BLK and appears on the deluxe edition of the album. More

Jun 26, 2015

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz has already composed two operas (Dr Dee: An English Opera and Monkey: Journey to the West), but now he’s set his sights on a musical. More

Sep 10, 2014

The Mercury Prize short list was announced today. More

Damon Albarn Reveals Work on New Musical

Also See Albarn and Graham Coxon Peform "Tender" at Latitude Festival

Jul 21, 2014

Hardly sitting idly by after releasing his debut solo album Everyday Robots earlier this spring, Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has revealed that he’s begun work on a new musical. More

Jul 02, 2014

Tony Allen, once described by Brian Eno as “the greatest drummer who ever lived,” just announced a new album, Film of Life, which will be out this October. As well as a brief teaser, he’s released a track called “Go Back,” which features vocals and keyboards from none other than Damon Albarn. More

Watch: Damon Albarn on “Fallon”

Performs "Lonely Press Play" and "This Is A Low"

Jun 06, 2014

In New York to perform at the Governors Ball this weekend, Damon Albarn made a pit stop over to The Tonight Show last night where he performed tracks off his debut solo album Everyday Robots. More

May 13, 2014

Fresh off releasing his debut solo album Everyday Robots, Blur frontman Damon Albarn has premiered a loving music video for “Mr. Tembo.” More

Damon Albarn Announces U.S. Tour Dates

Everyday Robots Out Tomorrow

Apr 28, 2014

Poised to release his debut solo album Everyday Robots in the states tomorrow, Blur frontman Damon Albarn has announced plans for a number of new U.S. shows set to take place this June. More

Apr 22, 2014

Damon Albarn‘s new solo album Everyday Robots is due out April 28 on XL. More

Mar 24, 2014

Damon Albarn’s new solo album Everyday Robots streets April 28 via Parlophone. More

Watch: Damon Albarn on “Jimmy Kimmel”

Performs "Mr. Tembo" and "Lonely Press Play"

Mar 13, 2014

This week Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been broadcasting from Austin for SXSW. More

Feb 27, 2014

Damon Albarn‘s “Lonely Press Play” marks the second single from Blur frontman and musical polymath’s upcoming solo debut Everyday Robots. More

Watch: Damon Albarn Debuts New Song “Lonely Press Play” at Sundance

Featured on Upcoming Solo Album Everyday Robots

Jan 24, 2014

Announcing just a few days ago the release of a new solo album, Everyday Robots, Damon Albarn payed a visit to this week’s Sundance Film Festival where he played an intimate set of songs, including new material from the upcoming LP. More

Jan 20, 2014

Damon Albarn has announced the upcoming release of a new solo album titled Everyday Robots. More

Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, Holy Other, Nick Zinner, and More Announce “Maison Des Jeunes”

Album Due Out December 9 Via Transgressive also Features Members of Metronomy and Django Django

Nov 14, 2013

As previously announced, Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, Holy Other, and more had headed to Mali to record a collaborative album with local Malian musicians. More

Oct 14, 2013

Continuing work with his Africa Express project, where western and African musical artists join forces for a musical collaboration, Blur’s Damon Albarn has recruited the likes of Brian Eno, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, Holy Other, actor Idris Elba, and other special guests to work on a new album in Bamako, the capital of Mali. More

May 28, 2013

Britpop veteran Damon Albarn has revealed plans to release his first proper solo album sometime this year. More

Damon Albarn, Charli XCX, and Others to Tour UK Via Train

The Africa Express To Begin This September

Jul 25, 2012

After completing his obligations with Blur at this year’s closing ceremony celebration for London’s Olympic Games, the nonstop projects of Damon Albarn will continue when he joins Africa Express, a collective of African and Western musicians that Albarn himself helped put together, as they perform a series of live shows throughout the UK. More

Damon Albarn Halts Work On New Blur Album

Producer William Orbit Says Sessions Stopped "Suddenly"

May 23, 2012

In yet another mixed signal about the future of Blur, Damon Albarn has reportedly halted work on the band’s current recording sessions. More

May 02, 2012

Last night UK program Later… with Jools Holland welcomed both St. Vincent and Damon Albarn for an evening of televised music. More

Damon Albarn Denies the End of Blur and Gorillaz

Backtracks On Earlier Comments

Apr 25, 2012

A few weeks back Damon Albarn was quoted by The Guardian saying that any potential work down the line with either Blur or Gorillaz was “unlikely.” Albarn has now come forward to say that neither project has reached their ultimate conclusion. More

Apr 23, 2012

While a number of its tracks have made their way across the web to listen to, Damon Albarn‘s forthcoming opera-work Dr. Dee is now streaming online in full. More

Listen: New Damon Albarn - “The Dancing King”

Dr. Dee Will Be Released May 8th

Apr 18, 2012

A couple of weeks ago we got the first listen from Damon Albarn’s soundtrack to his opera, Dr. Dee (due out May 8th). Now, following “The Marvelous Dream,” we can listen to the album’s closing track, “The Dancing King.” More

Damon Albarn Says Future Projects With Blur, Gorillaz Not Happening

Blur's Last Performance Will Be At the Olympic Games' Closing Ceremony.

Apr 09, 2012

Despite showing little signs of stopping his obsessive, musicial multi-tasking, releasing two new albums this year (one from his Flea/Tony Allen supergroup Rocketjuice And The Moon and the soundtrack to his own Dr. Dee opera) songwriter Damon Albarn revealed over the weekend that the likelihood of doing anything after this year with his biggest projects, Blur and Gorillaz, is extremely unlikely. More

Mar 28, 2012

As previously reported, exceptionally busy Brit Damon Albarn will be releasing the soundtrack to his recent opera Dr. Dee, a stagework inspired by the life of the Elizabethan scientist and royal advisor. More

Mar 07, 2012

Last year, Damon Albarn wrote and starred in the opera Dr. Dee, and will be releasing the music in its entirety on May 8. Dr. Dee is based on the life of 16th century scientist and advisor to Queen Elizabeth, John Dee. More

Listen: Lana Del Rey - “Born to Die” Damon Albarn Remix

Six-Minute Take on Now Familiar Single

Jan 23, 2012

Following in the footsteps of Clams Casino and Woodkid, Blur/Gorillaz songwriter Damon Albarn has produced a new remix of Lana Del Rey‘s single “Born to Die.” More

Aug 31, 2011

As previously announced Damon Albarn has been hard at work on a “Congo” album—inviting musicians and producers to collaborate in the Democratic Republic of Congo.We have additional details. More

Damon Albarn Congo Project On Its Way

New Details on Forthcoming LP

Jul 22, 2011

Damon Albarn is planning a unique way to make an album, inviting various artists, producers, and DJ’s to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and collaborate with the region’s local musicians. More

Listen: Damon Albarn “The Reigning Queen”

Hear Song from Forthcoming Opera

Jun 30, 2011

Blur frontman and Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn has created Dr Dee: An English Opera in collaboration with director Rufus Norris. Check out the new song from the opera, “The Reigning Queen.” More




Reviews

Nov 12, 2021

Throughout his decades-long career in music, from the lead singer of Britpop’s famed Blur to being the mastermind behind the collaborative Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has managed to maintain a global influence. Although such inspiration has taken varied forms with each passing year, Albarn’s artistry focuses on a constant global discovery of music that frequently crosses over into his own. More

Jun 10, 2014

In its third year on Randall’s Island, New York’s Governors Ball—named for its previous setting, on Governors Island—seems to have finally found steady footing. More

Apr 28, 2014

It’s hard to believe 20 years have passed since Britpop turned the U.K.‘s music scene on its head. In the following two decades, many of the movement’s mainstays have either accepted defeat and returned to their day jobs or tried to rekindle their burned-out careers through shambolic reunions. More

May 07, 2012

There’s something noble about Dr. Dee, Damon Albarn’s latest passion project, a mostly folk record about 16th-century British mathematician and occultist John Dee. Albarn’s desire to rescue a critical historical figure (Dee served as advisor to Elizabeth I and once owned perhaps the greatest library in England) from relative obscurity is certainly commendable. As a piece of music, however, the operatic folk of Dr. Dee doesn’t leave much of an impression. More