If you couldn't find any of your really cool friends yesterday afternoon around 1:15pm, here's a little tip: they were probably glued to their computers, watching Blur premiere their brand-new songs "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan" live atop an undisclosed London rooftop via Twitter webcast. Both songs (written exclusively for the band's upcoming Olympic games closing ceremony concert in Hyde Park) are available now on iTunes, Spotify and other online outlets and will be available on limited edition 7" vinyl starting August 6. (Pre-order yours over at blur.co.uk.)
In the meantime, though, you can check out both tracks via a pair of handy lyrics videos uploaded earlier this morning. Check them out below.
"Under The Westway"
A slower, more pensive companion piece to "For Tomorrow"… Damon Albarn paints a gorgeously run of the mill portrait of London life a la Parklife over his own melancholy piano arpeggios and Graham Coxon's airy background vocals and ringing, storm cloud guitar textures. "Am I lost out at sea 'til a tide wash me up off the Westway…" That ominous final piano chord gives me the shivers.
"The Puritan"
An obviously lighter bit of business, kicking off with that wonky throwback keyboard intro shuffle. "Are we institutionalized by the demands of today?" Damon wonders over his own heavy acoustic guitar strums. The thumping bass on the chorus harkens back to Think Tank (or, by extension, the first two Gorillaz records), though the deceptively cheery verses are moored in classic Parklife or The Great Escape era pessimism. I'm not as crazy about this one… would've loved to hear a bit of Graham's classic power chord craziness on the chorus… but hearing Damon's trademark "la la la's" again is a real treat.
What do you guys think of Blur's first new music since 2010's "Fool's Day"? Let us know in the comments section below.
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