Blur
Leisure

THE REVIEW

After enjoying "Parklife," I took a musical journey to Morocco with "Think Tank" before returning and feeling lost but not at all afraid with "13"... I was looking for a full house and found it with this "Leisure." "She's So High" confirms that once again, the anti-Oasis have met my expectations.

"Bang" remains in the power pop lane while "Slow Down" suggests a decidedly more rocking turn. The electric drums open "Repetition," followed by a hypnotic riff and Albarn's filtered voice. "Bad Day" begins with a harmonica then maintains a gentle pop-rock characterized by a rather strange vocal melody. By track 6, you are 101% satisfied: "Sing," made more or less famous by "Trainspotting." Six minutes of rare beauty, six minutes of pure psychedelia and hypnotic repetitiveness with the elementary beats of the piano and drums and a dizzying bass line! In short, it's simply to be listened to with eyes closed (just be careful of the final whistle caused by feedback that could harm your eardrums...). After this trip, "There's No Other Way" wakes you up with its '80s sound. Just as the powerful distortions of "Fool" would make anyone go wild, the rather mediocre rock of "Come Together" makes you wrinkle your nose; and after the somewhat indifferent britpop of "High Cool," it's psychedelia's turn again to take the reins of the album with "Birthday," characterized by a floating guitar with sudden bursts of distortion and a dragged, weary lullaby-style voice... it seems like a song straight out of "A Storm In Heaven" by the Verve, especially in the finale with the powerful explosion of sounds; Blur's debut closes in a satisfying manner with the rock of "Wear Me Down," sung by a rather gloomy voice as in many other tracks; closing with a simple but effective distorted solo by Coxon on a frenetic drum rhythm.

In short, this is where it all began, a beautiful and unpretentious rock album, yes, but certainly not original... from here on, with each work, there will be a noticeable mutation that will reach its peak in the band's last two MASTERPIECES "13" and "Think Tank"... but that's another story.