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You are here: Home / Culture / Music / Albums / New DAMON ALBARN solo album fails to leave impact

New DAMON ALBARN solo album fails to leave impact

November 12, 2021 Category: Albums, Reviews
Damon Albarn - credit Steve Gullick
Damon Albarn - credit Steve Gullick
Damon Albarn - The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows
Damon Albarn – The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows

DAMON ALBARN

The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows (Transgressive)

After generous offerings throughout lockdown from Gorillaz, Damon Albarn ventures away from his eternal collaborative project with a solo set. The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows is an album with a broad palate and does not always gain focus in any particular genre. 

RELATED: ‘Things Take Time, Take Time, the third album from Courtney Barnett, offers a more adventurous tweak to her formula.’

The title track is subtle, only partially impressive. Combustion’s dark, atonal feel leads into frenzied free jazz and shrill radio waves conjoining in a pleasant romping beat. There are several instrumental pieces, leading you to crave more Albarn’s lush, sincere vocals. 

Loving little ballad Daft Wader is a highlight, thanks to its immaculate piano backing and childlike sense of wonder. Polaris, too, stands out with its queasy opening leading to a Hammond-organ Latin beat, though quickly falls into a trap of a cheesy dance record. Despite some really swell moments from Damon Albarn, most of The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows leaves without a trace.

words JAMES ELLIS

KEEP READING: ‘Acoustic Hymns, Vol. 1 offers Richard Ashcroft fans much of the same they’ve heard before – though perhaps not quite as advertised.’

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About Noel Gardner

Noel is the listings, reviews, music and books editor at Buzz and has been doing some or all of these things here since the days of dial-up internet. He was raised in Cornwall, lives in Cardiff and that is more or less all he has ever known.
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Tag: blur, buzz album review, damon albarn, gorillaz, james ellis, steve gullick

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