Blur: "Blur"
Food 7243 8 55562 2 7 (57 mins) Dial-a-track code: 1201
Having been royally trounced by Oasis in the Britpop wars, it looks like Blur are starting to get tough - so tough, in fact, they sound more like G.I. Joe than a bunch of squaddies from Colchester. Yes, it looks like Damon Albarn has finally decided to confront his Yankophobia, inviting Stephen Malkmus from Pavement over for a cup of tea, and writing such transatlantic peace offerings as Look Inside America. Blur's fifth album is a darker, altogether more introspective affair, and the music hall pantomime, piano has been drowned out by a dramatic sweep of grunge-tinted guitars. Cor, blimey, lawks-a-mussy, ducks, but could Blur be actually betraying their Anglo-centric roots? What next - baseball caps and baggy trousers, raps and breakbeats? Relax; Damon and the boys haven't been completely Americanised, even though Country Sad Ballad Man could have crawled straight out of the South, probably somewhere in The Butthole Surfers' back garden; there's still a strong English flavour in Song 2 and M.O.R. although this time Blur aren't digging themselves into the trenches and setting the bulldogs loose, but swaggering confidently in their new fatigues, confident that Sgt. Rock is going to help them invade America. On Your Own takes the old Blur motifs - cheeky chappie vocals, twisted guitars and footlight harmonies - and applies them to an instantly-likeable pop tune which is light years away from Country House. Guitarist Graham Coxon, not content with splattering his grinding guitar riffs all over this album, takes over lead vocals for You're So Great, a Kinksy, acoustic interlude, while M.O.R. cheekily retools Bowie's Boys Keep Swinging turning it into a Monkees theme tune for Britpop. Death Of A Party is a funeral lament for the London party set, and Essex Dogs is a deep, rumbling, uneasy tune, a desolate, psyche- ripping trip through Damon's homespun demons - now this really is a low. In the end, it hardly matters - whether Damon and the boys have managed to shrug off the Yoke of Albion. What matters is that in doing so, Blur have widened their horizons beyond Camden, and widened their vision beyond Britpop.
Eels: "Beautiful Freak"
Dreamworks DRD 50001 (44 mins) Dial-a-track code: 1311
They might look a bit like The Police's grungy cousins, but Los Angeles band Eels are not your typical US teencore combo - in fact, they're more likely to alienate Alice In Chains fans with their quark-driven strangeness and charm. You already love Novocaine For The Soul, a Smells Like Teen Numbness for the post-Nirvana generation, but that doesn't give much indication of the weird concoction you'll discover once you start exploring the Eels' terrain a little deeper. Sally's House strips away the picket fence facade to reveal a darker side to suburban life, Rags To Rags is a lowdown country blues number which quickly metamorphoses into a monstrous anthem, and Beautiful Freak is a scary peek inside the shadowy music-box of the soul. Other songs like My Beloved Monster, Not Ready Yet, Flower and Guest List mix samples, snatches of banjo, harmonica and wurlitzer, and strange, slanted views of the world, creating a superbly peaceful, uneasy feeling.
The Divine Comedy: "A Short Albums About Love"
Setanta SETCD036 (32 mins)
Dial-a-track code: 1421
In which Neil Hannon waxes lyrical about a subject dear to his heart, using a full orchestral backing to give full weight to his musings on all matters amorous. In Casanova Neil played the Lothario, trying to pull the ladies left, right and centre with his charming manner and clever lyrics. Here, Hannon plays the lover, using the orchestral sounds to caress and calm his object of affection. The album was recorded at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, with the 30-piece Brunel Ensemble, and the seven tunes were arranged by Hannon's keyboardist and musical collaborator, Joby Talbot. Songs like Everybody Knows (Except You), Someone and I'm All You Need are guaranteed to make any Frog Princess feel like a Queen.
