You already know all there is to know about this record. How it steals the extremely good idea of a gospel choir from Spiritualized. How it sounds far more like a John Lennon song than Oasis have in a long while. How its an eight-minute uplifting hoedown about life, love and the persuit of a good sing a long. You’ve debated its level of calculation, the quality of its hand-claps; whether or not its about Justine. If by some strange alchemy you dont actually like it, you’re probably ready to emigrate.
Because this is the most talked about, pre-played, rotated, downloaded and hysterically anticipated record in recent memory. Is this going to be the tune that heralds a new home-grown golden age? That’s what the monkey-men are wondering. Are Blur going to knock Steps-style pop off its garish podium and whup its pert behind? Thats what the rest of us want to know.
For a moment, however, let us cease heaping expectation on ‘Tender’s’fragnant shoulders. Let’s just reflect that, ‘Oh my baby/ Oh my baby/ Oh why/ Oh my’, says a lot more abou the human condition than a raft of therapists ever could. Let’s just stop bloody thinking so hard about it and let some beautiful music heal our minds.
Blur - Tender (Food)
Praise the lord for giving us Blur
Not the group you'd want alongside you in the proverbial trench, but you can always rely on them to dig you out of a hole in times of musical strife.
Tender is the gospel according to Albarn and Coxon - a-seven-and-a-half minute epic, with the handclaps of Give Peace A Chance & choir in full voice - the very anithesis of Song 2 infact.
It's guarenteed to provide Blur with the 13th No1 of the year and is unlikely to be bettered this century.