While their album may not yet be complete, Blur trumped the world this week by releasing an unannounced white label single, “Don’t Drop The Bomb When You’re The Bomb.” The single, which had an Arabic title (a nod to their recording in Morocco?) and no markings of any other kind, was available at the Rough Trade stores in London earlier this week. Both XFM and Radio 1 have spun the song since the first time it was leaked, yesterday morning. As I am currently in London, I heard the initially play of the single, as well as some of the subsequent spins. Particularly noticeable is the distinct lack of guitar, which makes sense, as former axeman Graham Coxon was axed from the band prior to the voyage to Morocco.
The vibe is primarily electronic, which is not surprising, as Albarn had so much success with his Gorillaz project. However, there is no hip-hop element at all to the song, nor is it particularly single-like. I would characterize it more in the vein of an album track, but it is definitely interesting and much better than most of last album, 13.
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