BLUR Vinilo y CD

Review: For all of the "it's like 1995 all over again" analysis that greeted the surprise return of Britpop stars Blur, it would count for nothing if the music they were making was a hollow pastiche of the past. Fortunately, The Ballad of Darren, the band's first new album since 2015, is a giddy blast from the past - and reportedly one recorded in a much more cooperative and good-humoured atmosphere than expected. Fans will immediately feel at home, with tracks such as 'St Charles Square' and 'The Narcissist' offering that now familiar mix of weary vocals, squally guitars, low-slung bass and shuffling drums. Whether or not it's a "return to form" is debatable, but it's certainly a refreshing blast from the past for those came of age in the 1990s (and those inspired by Britpop's messy, lager-fuelled energy).

Review: It's funny to think about the Blur v Oasis contest that defined British music in the mid-1990s. Then bright young things looking to shake things up after years of electronic rave dominance, the fact so much emphasis was placed on these two bands makes for an incomplete story of those times, while their individual output was not quite polar but certainly harder to compare than headlines suggested. Skip forward a few decades and differences are now pronounced. The Gallagher Brothers have pursued relatively familiar sounds in the 21st Century. Blur, or at least Damon Albarn, created a 3D animated virtual band while overseeing the first few editions of the globally acclaimed Manchester International Festival. Now, 33 years after the debut single, Blur return with studio LP number nine, and it's a stunner. Not so much growing old gracefully as tackling challenges that come with it, it's though proving, poignant and grittily woozy.

Review: One of the most successful British bands of the last 3 decades, Blur are back with their first new album in over 8 years: The Ballad of Darren. The album was produced by James Ford and recorded in Studio 13, London and Devon, and is the sound of a band at the very top of their game.

The Ballad of Darren is the band's ninth studio album, their first since the chart-topping The Magic Whip in 2015, with artwork featuring an image by British photographer Martin Parr.

Region code: ABC (universal)

Review: Ah Liam Gallagher - a man who never seems to grow old or fully out of touch. Well, depending on your opinions on absolutely everything, of course. The Manchester icon and former-Oasis enfant terrible has spoken from his heart on a range of subjects, from "dance music can fuck right off" to "I am not an entertainer", and understandably his off-the-cuff honesty resonates with both the die hard disciples and sceptics alike. Simply put, nobody can accuse him of not wearing heart on sleeve.

In many ways, that approach guides his latest solo offering, C'Mon You Know. Back in February 2022, three months before this record's release, he told NME "I'm quite happy with the formula... I look cool. I sound good. I talk from the heart." If that's not evidence we're not ranting rubbish we don't know what is. As for the record's sound, think timeless British indie that has one foot in a 1990s glory era of British rock 'n' roll, and another in li-fi contemporary noise, all delivered with operatic drama.