Britpop legends Blur, aka the band from before Gorillaz that was better than Gorillaz, announced a smattering of stadium and festival gigs, and it’s been almost two years since Damon Albarn said they “have an idea” for another album. Today, that all adds up to news that makes me want to shout, “Woohoo!”

The idea has been brought to fruition, and Blur will return in July with The Ballad Of Darren, their first album since the last reunion effort, 2015’s The Magic Whip. “This is an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now,” Albarn says in a press release. His bandmates all offered statements too. Graham Coxon: “The older and madder we get, it becomes more essential that what we play is loaded with the right emotion and intention. Sometimes just a riff doesn’t do the job.” Alex James: “For any long term relationship to last with any meaning you have to be able to surprise each other somehow and somehow we all continue to do that.” Dave Rowntree: “It always feels very natural to make music together. With every record we do, the process reveals something new and we develop as a band. We don’t take that for granted.”

Our first preview of the album is “The Narcissist.” It’s a super straightforward midtempo pop-rock song that absolutely sounds like Blur, and I love it. Listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “The Ballad”
02 “St Charles Square”
03 “Barbaric”
04 “Russian Strings”
05 “The Everglades (For Leonard)”
06 “The Narcissist”
07 “Goodbye Albert”
08 “Far Away Island”
09 “Avalon”
10 “The Heights”

The Ballad Of Darren is out 7/21 on Parlophone.