Blur share new single ‘St. Charles Square’ ahead of Wembley Stadium shows
Blur have shared ‘St. Charles Square’, the latest single to be taken from their upcoming album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’. Check out the new track below.
The song is the second to be taken from the upcoming ninth album from the Britpop legends and follows the lead single ‘The Narcissist’, which arrived earlier this year.
According to a press release, the song sees Damon Albarn and co. capture the same “discordant art-pop swagger” as seen in the band’s earlier discography, with the frontman exclaiming “Cause there’s something down here, and it’s living under the floorboards” during the chorus.
It also describes the chorus as being “encircled by backing vocals that compound the sense of encroaching peril”, alongside the intriguing guitars from longtime member Graham Coxon. Check it out below.
Although today (June 29) marks the first time that the song has been officially released by the band, the members have already given the track a live debut, and played it at multiple shows in recent weeks.
This included their electric live return for their first warm-up show at Colchester Arts Centre in Essex on May 19, a follow-up show in Eastbourne and an appearance at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival earlier this month.
What’s more, the track also arrives just before the band are set to perform two highly anticipated performances at London’s Wembley Stadium next month.
The gigs will take place on Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9, and celebrate the upcoming LP ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ — set for release on July 21 via Parlophone and Warner (pre-order here). The album is their first since 2015’s ‘The Magic Whip’.
Sleaford Mods join the line-up for the sold-out Saturday 8th July along with critically acclaimed English singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem and London-based electro-pop duo Jockstrap.
The second of the shows will see Paul Weller and The Selecter open for blur, as well as DJs Steve Davis and John Doran & Kavus Torabi. Longtime friend of the band and frequent collaborator Phil Daniels will also join them as a special guest on both nights.
The first show (Saturday July 8) is now fully sold-out, however, remaining tickets for the Sunday show can be found here.
Last month (May 19), all four members opened up about the recording process of their upcoming album during a press conference at Colchester Castle.
“There were moments of utter joy,” said bassist Alex James. “The fact that we all go off and go down our rabbit holes and come back up again and when we do get back together, we’ve all learnt something… There’s always been something very special about when we play together. It’s there right from the get go. I feel fulfilled and blessed.”
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
