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13

A long, experimental album made with William Orbit after the breakup of Albarn's relationship.
Blur, 1999

Released
15 March 1999
Recorded
June to October 1998
Studio
Sýrland, Studio 13, Sarm West and Mayfair
Label
Food
Producer
William Orbit, Blur
Length
66:50

Produced by William Orbit, it reached number one in the UK and 80 on the US chart, was nominated for the Mercury Prize and holds a Metacritic score of 79. Its lead single Tender was written by Albarn and Coxon about Albarn's split from Justine Frischmann.

Pitchfork's Brent DiCrescenzo gave it 9.1 in 1999. A secret show for Dutch radio station VPRO at Studio Amstel in Amsterdam on 25 February 1999 previewed almost all of it before release.

Track listing

  1. Tender7:40
  2. Bugman4:47
  3. Coffee & TV5:58
  4. Swamp Song4:36
  5. 19925:29
  6. B.L.U.R.E.M.I.2:52
  7. Battle7:43
  8. Mellow Song3:56
  9. Trailerpark4:26
  10. Caramel7:38
  11. Trimm Trabb5:37
  12. No Distance Left to Run3:27
  13. Optigan 12:34

More from Blur

Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994), The Great Escape (1995), Blur (1997), Think Tank (2003), The Magic Whip (2015), The Ballad of Darren (2023)

Sources

  1. 13 (Blur album), Wikipedia
  2. 13 review, Pitchfork (1999-03-23)
  3. Blur Live, VPRO Studio Amstel, 25 February 1999, Internet Archive