Stream The Good, The Bad & The Queen’s Reunion Album Merrie Land
The Good, The Bad & The Queen — the supergroup founded by Blur/Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn alongside the Clash’s Paul Simonon, the Verve’s Simon Tong, and Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen — released their self-titled debut in 2007 and then disappeared. But they’ve been teasing a reunion album since 2014, and that album is finally out today.
For the past year, Albarn has been rightfully indulging our probings about the first the Good, The Bad & The Queen record in more than a decade. In our 2017 interview, he called it “post-Brexit commentary” and “an Afro-soul Parklife, if that’s possible.” Last month, the band officially announced Merrie Land’s release date and shared its title track and the slow, loping spectacle “Gun To The Head.”
Now, the record is finally here. Co-produced by famed David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti, Merrie Land is an ode to a beautiful, tumultuous England. Albarn’s reflective sing-speak atop the supergroup’s soulful Brit-pop establishes an atmosphere of melodic, carnival hope and gloom. Stream Merrie Land in its entirety below.
Merrie Land is out now via the Good, The Bad & The Queen’s new label Studio 13.