Blur: Think Tank

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald Rating: * * * * *)

Band's heyday passes. Greatest hits album is delivered. Singer goes off and makes surprisingly successful hit album with side project. Singer then goes off and makes world music album. Band eventually regroup but increasingly disgruntled guitarist finally quits as sessions with a variety of producers start. Other three carry on regardless ...

Yes, Blur - the English band who were the smartest alecs of the mid-90s Britpop era - were rather up against it on this their seventh album.

It might have seemed time to quit, given the departure of guitarist Graham Coxon and the comparative sales figures from frontman Damon Albarn's virtual cartoon hip-hop other band Gorillaz.

Well if this was Blur's end, then Think Tank would be a triumphant way to go out.

Initially it comes across as an odd-shaped thing, but once its tunes kick in it's obvious that it's several notches above their last, 1999's 13.

It would seem that having no Coxon, who has released a string of fairly tortuous solo albums over the years, has allowed the remaining trio to play to their melodic strengths, as well as go a bit nutty in the rhythm department.

They do have some occasional help in the latter from Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook on two tracks. His influence is at its most noticeable on Crazy Beat, a highly infectious meaty beaty big and bouncy cousin to their earlier Song 2. Cook's other credit, the rollicking junkshop beats of Gene By Gene sounds - as does earlier track Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club - infused by the spirit of Joe Strummer and the Clash's globe-trot rock.

There is a hefty Blurpop quota, whether it's the aforementioned Crazy Beat or the dreamy, Neil Finn-like Out of Time.

But what's more compelling are the album's bass-driven, art-funk numbers which recall early Talking Heads, best heard early on in the thrilling, snowballing opener Ambulance which creeps forth on its rattling rhythms and Albarn's falsetto. A few minutes later it's urging you to give that stereo bass knob an upwards tweak and keep it there for the rest of the 13 tracks.

Likewise, there's something very Heads-ish about the low-riding Brothers and Sisters, complete with a lyric that outdoes Queens of the Stone Age's Feelgood hit of the Summer in the length and breadth of its pharmaceutical shopping list.

Along the way, this album also pulls off tricks like having a 60-second punk blast of We've Got a File on You sounding like the perfect follow-up to the sleepy guitar and electronic hum of Caravan.

Add in a couple of heart-on-sleeve ballads like On the Way to the Club and Sweet Song and it's clear that for all its experimental urges, Think Tank still plays to the emotions.

That's never more apparent than on the final track, Battery In Your Leg, a slow-burning number which is the only appearance of Coxon's guitar. His lines spiral downward as the song itself pushes the button marked "uplifting". It's a touching end.

Throughout this, it sounds like for Blur, Britpop was an age ago. And in redefining themselves on Think Tank, what has emerged is an album of aching heart, fluid hips and a very deep brain.

Label: Parlophone