Infamous Manchester band, Blur, today released their new single 'The Narcissist'. It is the first single on their upcoming album, A Ballad Of Darren, set for release on 21st July 2023.

Produced by James Ford and recorded at Studio 13, London and Devon, The Ballad of Darren is the band’s ninth studio album, and will be the band's first in eight years. Blur are set to play a sold-out gig at Malahide Castle in Dublin on Saturday June 24th.

Damon Albarn called the album "an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now.”

Graham Coxon, speaking about the album, said: “The older and madder we get, it becomes more essential that what we play is loaded with the right emotion and intention. Sometimes just a riff doesn’t do the job.”

New album, The Ballad of Darren, out 21st July 2023.https://t.co/NYFL2LW7On pic.twitter.com/5uh5O5q5yl

— blur (@blurofficial) May 18, 2023

Since their arrival on the music scene in the earty '90s, Blur have been an integral part of the U.K's music scene. The band had six successive number 1 albums in the U.K. charts over a 21 year span, with Parklife (1994), The Great Escape (1995), Blur (1997), 13 (1999), Think Tank (2003) and The Magic Whip (2015) all reaching number 1.

One of Britain's biggest bands of the last half century, Blur have released eight studio albums, while collecting five BRIT awards, 10 NME awards, and countless other awards for their work.

The complete tracklisting for The Ballad of Darren is:

1. The Ballad
2. St Charles Square
3. Barbaric
4. Russian Strings
5. The Everglades (For Leonard)
6. The Narcissist
7. Goodbye Albert
8. Far Away Island
9. Avalon
10. The Heights