Just to get it out of the way, the Darren in question is Darren “Smoggy” Evans, Blur’s longtime bodyguard, who once urged frontman Damon Albarn to complete an unfinished song in 2003. That song eventually became “The Ballad”, originally conceptualized during the Brit quartet’s Think Tank era, now opening track of their new album 20 years later. So, there’s no romantic undertone whatsoever behind that album title, just a sly nod at a friend’s brashness. It’s contrary to what can be said about the track itself. That one cuts deep.

The Ballad of Darren marks the band’s return since 2015’s Hong Kong-inspired The Magic Whip. In between, its members flourished in individual pursuits. Guitarist Graham Coxon, for one, managed to contribute to soundtracks before working on his other band, The Waeve. While drummer Dave Rowntree released a solo album, also in early 2023.

Albarn was notably most visible. He released four more albums with Gorillaz, including the February 2023 release Cracker Island. Little did fans know that a reunion was brewing. In May 2023, the band released their first single since 2015 and concurrently kicked off their first tour since 2019.

Produced by frequent collaborator James Ford, this new record oozes with lounge pop influences while tackling heavy personal issues like mental health struggles, loneliness, and heartbreak. It’s a given that The Ballad already sets the tone. But Albarn follows it through with the relatively more up-tempo “Barbaric”, where he ponders “I have lost the feeling that I’d thought I’d never lose/Now, where am I going?”

Personal demons also take the spotlight. In the aptly titled first single, “The Narcissist”, he sings about trying to overcome the condition: “I’ll be shining light in your eyes/You’ll probably shine it back on me/But I won’t fall this time/With Godspeed, I’ll heed the signs”. It’s a worthy carrier track and earned widespread praise upon its release.

Not all tracks sound morose, even if closer scrutiny of the lyrics reveals otherwise. The second single “St. Charles Square”, for instance, sounds like a B-side from 1995’s The Great Escape or 1999’s 13, but it actually provides the scariest imagery. The hallucinations are described in vivid detail.

The album seemingly closes on a hopeful note with “The Heights” (“I’ll see you in the heights one day/I’ll get there too/I’ll be standing in the front row next to you”). But then, that track is punctuated by disjointed, noisy riffs, which only portent deeper struggles. The Deluxe edition adds two more tracks, “The Rabbi” and “The Swan”, while the Japanese edition concludes with a 13th , “Sticks and Stones” . Either way, it all ends in the same way it begins – with the same debilitating sense of longing and confusion.

In a way, this is their answer to Beck’s more contemplative work, namely, Mutations, Sea Change, and Morning Phase. It’s more stripped down than Magic Whip’s playful whimsy and generally more eclectic than their 90s work. In other words, it doesn’t exactly feel “feel heavy metal”, as their two-minute 1997 hit once put, though the “pins and needles” definitely still prevail. Clocking in under 50 minutes, this is their shortest album to date, but this one resonates differently. More specifically, it hits straight to the heart.