Right off the bat Viva Brother is a bit suspect considering all the hype that the UK music press dumped on them before they’d even released a debut.  Then when you consider that every piece written about them references the fact that they sound exactly like Blur and Oasis and that the band falls under a new category called “gritpop”(presumably a grittier version of Britpop…), you might be a bit hesitant.  At least I was.  Then I heard the song “Darling Buds of May” and was pleasantly surprised.  Sure there are shades of Albarn and the Gallagher brothers, but who cares if the song is good?  continue reading...

After the bands guitarist, Graham Coxon, left during the recording of their last album Think Tank things have been pretty stagnant for Blur.   Think Tank received mixed reviews and the band essentially broke up, or went on hiatus, or whatever it is bands call it these days.  Damon Albarn then went on to have incredible success with his cartoon band Gorillaz and it seemed as if Blur was done for good. continue reading...

Well that was quick… No new album?  No shows in North America?  Too bad, I would have liked to hear some new music from Blur.  Read more on the apparent re-breakup from Graham Coxon via Ultimate-Guitar.com:

  According to Nme.com, Graham Coxon has stated that Blur has no future plans to play together or act as a band following this year. continue reading...