‘My most personal record yet’… the overriding tagline of Damon Albarn’s press campaign for new album Everyday Robots, and it must be said he has delivered. Every song you sense is personally crafted, each lyric considered, and the result is a stunning collection of songs, lifting of the veil on one of England’s most celebrated songwriters.
The album’s title track introduces Albarn’s preoccupations, a sample of bebop comedian Lord Buckley stuttering, ‘They didn’t know where they was going, but they knew where they were wasn’t it.’ The album is evoked thematically, and perhaps Albarn, entering middle age and fatherhood, is reflected? The song itself is beautifully arranged with a striking string arrangement that sweeps throughout.
‘Hostiles’ has a slow burning introduction, reflective of Blur’s ‘Out of Time’, and continues the albums complete absorption with the idea of communication, or lack of it. ‘Hoping to find the key to this play of communications, between you and me,’ Albarn breaths. ‘Lonely Press Play’, an album highlight, seamlessly moulds Albarn’s Africa Express influence and his own sentimental English song writing.
‘Mr Tembo’, which prompted the elephant about which it is written to ‘shat itself’ according to Albarn, further evidences Albarn’s love for his Africa Express project before ‘Parakeet’ an entertaining if hollow interlude leads into ‘The Selfish Giant’. At first difficult to place this develops into a classically heartfelt song concerned with lovers battling the modern age. Albarn’s voice, nicely exposed, delivers the fantastic lyric ‘it’s hard to be a lover when the TV’s on and nothing’s in your eyes.’
The strongest songs on the album however are ‘You and Me’ and ‘Hollow Ponds’. Here Albarn is totally exposed, evoking such universal sentiment that to not be dragged in would, to me, render you heartless. He alludes to the heroin rumours of the 90’s while drawing on the imagery of Modern Life is Rubbish in a fantastic ten minutes of music.
‘Seven High’ is another interlude which serves to break up long songs and ‘Photographs’ contains a vocal melody that on lesser album would be a highlight.
‘The History of a Cheating Heart’ benefits from scare instrumentation and single ‘Heavy Seas of Love’ is a euphoric end to a slow burning but intense and truly brilliant album. Everyday Robots is a collection of stunningly crafted songs, with great instrumentation befitting of such carefully selected lyrics.
