The first solo album from a musician as gifted as Damon Albarn should have been a real event. With typical perversity, however, the Blur frontman simply knocked out Democrazy in various hotel rooms during his band's last American tour, using beatboxes, guitars and whatever happened to be lying around at the time. Predictably enough, the result is a real mish-mash: Gorillaz-style hip-hop, hazy alt-country instrumentals and a few lo-fi crooners that sound oddly like Bob Dylan pastiches. Some of this is fascinating; with a bit more work there could have been the makings of half a great new Blur album here. Some of it, on the other hand, is so crude that it should simply never have seen the light of day - and the fact that Albarn sounds half-drunk most of the time suggests that he didn't exactly take the project terribly seriously. If you're a diehard Blur fan, buy Democrazy for its insight into their leader's creative process - otherwise, approach with extreme caution.

Your Comments

No comments have been posted for this article yet. Be the first!