What is Britpop’s legacy, according to Blur’s Alex James

the release of The Ballad of Darrenninth studio album by blurlast Friday (21), puts more wood on a fire that seems to have reignited with strength recently: the return of the britpopbeyond the nostalgia of fans.

More than a musical genre in itself, the British movement that brought together bands like Oasis, blur, Pulp, suede, Elastic, supergrass, The Verve and other big names in 1990s rock, seems to have gained new momentum recently. Suede released a new album, autofiction, in 2022; and Pulp toured for more than a decade after the group split in 2011 (via NME).

Added to all this is the emblematic return of Blur, which, in addition to the launch, launched a global tour, with two sold-out dates at Wembley Stadium, in the United Kingdom, in addition to the group’s participation as the headliner in several editions of Primavera Sound – the only exception being precisely the Brazilian edition of the festival.

For Blur’s bassist, Alex Jameswhich is considered ‘Britpop’ has changed a lot over the years, as has the band itself and the artists since then:

“Blur has changed a lot since that time too. We don’t play together all the time, but we did records in 2003 and 2015 – ok, maybe we don’t do that many records [risos] – but now we have nine records and our top 10 songs have a track from each album. There’s been a big evolution on this record since The Magic Whip. You need to evolve to stay relevant.”

For the bassist, the main legacy of what is considered Britpop is perhaps precisely ‘the sense of longing and nostalgia’ that the movement brings. That’s what he explains, while playing with the very characteristics of the style that marked the music of that moment: “The definitive characteristics of Britpop are what? Maybe the trumpets or the metal sections…? [risos]”

“[O britpop] it’s something we look at today with a great sense of nostalgia and nostalgia. But the fact that we’re making a new record is something that changes touring from a pure sense of nostalgia to something fresh. So I think the answer is, yes, I miss the 90s a lot, but it’s great to play songs that we did in the 2010s and 2020s as well. It’s moving forward, not chasing your own tail.”

For the bassist, the new album marks precisely an evolution, rather than a simple homage to the late period of British pop: “The coolest thing about this album is that it was one of the best things we’ve ever done and there’s still gas in the tank.”