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A dense, fascinating, idiosyncratic and accomplished art rock album.
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Blur have finally found a sound to match their name.
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If you're a fan of the old Blur material, this disc may not be your thing.
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13 is the first Blur record that requires multiple listenings for it to really sink in.
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At first listen, it may be hard to figure out whether 13 is some sort of twisted masterpiece or the work of a once-great group losing the plot. Those who stick around to find out will be rewarded.
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If Blur was a tentative step away from the pop past, 13 is a suicidal leap - the little girls are not coming back after they hear this.
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Their sloppiest, most playful set yet.
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Little gems are overwhelmed by sprawling jam tracks that, well, blur into each other.
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Methodical, often sprawling and sonically messy, 13 isn't a charmer, but it is awfully seductive.
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13's strange, frustrating combination of expert musicianship and self-indulgence reveals the sound of a band trying to find itself.
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The best results are in the vein of Low-era Bowie. The duds turn up, surprisingly, in the area that Blur is strongest -- songwriting.
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Orbit's masterfully sludgy production adds a layer of grime to even the poppiest songs, and his cut-and-paste edits and swooshing studio flourishes create a sense of dizzy late-night anguish throughout.
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Blur's most inconsistent and infuriating statement thus far. Infuriating, because divested of four solid-gone clunkers '13' could pass muster as the best of Blur.
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With patience, 13 reveals itself as sort of a poor man's OK Computer, only instead of Radiohead's airborne sonic journey through the future, Blur investigates the murk of its inner-city swamps.
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If there's a downside, it's that 13 may sound more like a sampler of ideas than a single-minded effort.
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A shitty Blur album is still better than a lot of bands' best efforts.
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Despite all this experimentation, Blur still sneaks in perfect pop nuggets such as "Coffee & TV," where cheery harmonies share space with a squealing guitar.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 78 out of 85
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Mixed: 5 out of 85
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Negative: 2 out of 85
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Dec 7, 2011
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Mar 27, 2019
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Feb 19, 2019A beautiful, underrated masterpiece. This is what ear-candy sounds like. "Trimm Trabb" is the highlight out of this one.