Blur Strips Back Its Sound But Stays True to England

BLUR

“Blur”

Virgin

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So Blur is bored with England--where it rivals Oasis for preeminence--and is fascinated with America--where, unlike Oasis, it’s a Brit-rock also-ran. So on its fifth album it strips away the baroque-pop ornamentation and abandons the Anglo-specific, Ray Davies-like character studies that had become its trademarks in favor of a rawer, more “American” approach.

A cynical, calculated move? On first scan, it’s easy to wonder how much the band’s heart is in it. They didn’t even bother giving a real title to the album’s first U.S. single (the boisterous “Song 2”) and blatantly titled another song “Look Inside America.”

But on examination, singer Damon Albarn isn’t stripping away the decorations so much as his own shell--he’s not looking at another culture, but inside himself. It’s a rewarding, revealing shift that refreshes and expands Blur’s emotional palette, paralleled by the musical changes, with the band resourcefully discovering new, distinctive touches of its own rather than relying on outside horns and such.

And ultimately, the Americanization of Blur (which plays March 19 at the Palace) is illusory. “Death of a Party” is a Morrissey-worthy slice of self-disgust. “Strange News From Another Star” could pass as vintage, space-folkie Bowie. “Movin’ On” rocks a la early Roxy Music, complete with Eno-like synth squawks. It’s as English as cricket and crumpets.

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