As a response to the dominance of
grunge
in the U.K. and their own decreasing profile in their homeland -- and also as a response to
Suede
's sudden popularity --
Blur
reinvented themselves with their second album,
Modern Life Is Rubbish
, abandoning the
shoegazing
and baggy influences that dominated
Leisure
for
traditional pop
. On the surface,
Modern Life
may appear to be an homage to
the Kinks
,
David Bowie
the Beatles
, and
Syd Barrett
, yet it isn't a restatement, it's a revitalization.
use British
guitar pop
from
to
My Bloody Valentine
as a foundation, spinning off tales of contemporary despair. If
Damon Albarn
weren't such a clever songwriter, both lyrically and melodically,
could have sunk under its own pretensions, and the latter half does drag slightly. However, the record teems with life, since
refuse to treat their classicist songs as museum pieces.
Graham Coxon
's guitar tears each song open, either with unpredictable melodic lines or layers of translucent, hypnotic effects, and his work creates great tension with
Alex James
' kinetic bass. And that provides
Albarn
a vibrant background for his social satires and cutting commentary. But the reason
is such a dynamic record and ushered in a new era of British
pop
is that nearly every song is carefully constructed and boasts a killer melody, from the stately
"For Tomorrow"
and the punky
"Advert"
to the
vaudeville
stomp of
"Sunday Sunday"
and the
neo-psychedelic
"Chemical World."
Even with its flaws, it's a record of considerable vision and excitement. [Most American versions of
substitute the demo version of
"Chemical World"
for the studio version on the British edition. They also add the superb single
"Pop Scene"
before the final song,
"Resigned."
] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine