User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 23 out of 27
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Mixed: 1 out of 27
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Negative: 3 out of 27
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Aug 10, 2023I'd say this is Blur's worst album but it sounds more like another dreary Damon Albarn vanity project. hard to believe the others signed up to this rubbish.
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Aug 5, 2023
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Jul 22, 2023Blur’s worst album by a country mile and The Magic Whip was underwhelming.
Awards & Rankings
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Jul 24, 2023The songs on The Ballad of Darren are measured and contained. In fact, the calm gravitas which pervades the record occasionally plods. Perhaps it’s a meta-commentary on the album’s subject matter, or, perhaps, it’s just hard to make new music for 30 years straight. Yet, there is a relief that is interspersed amid the LP’s gloom that arrives on more high-spirited, familiar tracks that are reminiscent of the group at their spiky-haired zenith.
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Jul 24, 2023Yes, The Ballad of Darren is Dad Rock. Fairly enjoyable Dad Rock, true, and still a record hundreds of bands can only dream of making, but one that would likely fall by the wayside if anyone else had made it. Is this bad? Not really, and if anything, it proves that Blur can transition gracefully into old age.
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Jul 24, 2023[The Ballad Of Darren] finds late-life Blur on eloquent, emotional form. It’s an album that often looks back, while summoning textures and nuances that only add to their toolkit.