Certainly the most immediate thing about Parklife, straight from the opening track, is how much more adventurous Blur is on their third release - while Modern Life stuck closely to the poppy, sometimes gentle nature of groups like The Kinks or The Who, Parklife is willing to grab and mix in various other sounds. The opening track, the Top 5 hit "Girls & Boys", is an infectious disco-inspired pop number with a grabbing hook, bouncing bass line, clean strings, and smashing guitar hits that all add up to what is certainly the group's most iconic song of their Britpop era - catchy and tongue-in-cheek throughout, it makes a fantastic introduction to the quirky world of Parklife. Throughout the rest of the album, Blur indulge in all kinds of musical ideas, from punk ("Bank Holiday") to folk ("Far Out"), and from music hall ("The Debt Collector") to chamber pop ("To the End"). This willingness to explore different ideas is undoubtedly one of the strongest aspects of Parklife, as it creates a record filled with different settings and dripping with life. This exploratory quality continues, in some ways, to the lyrical contents, which has a few general themes in contrast to the highly British nature of Modern Life - the English way is still very much present on Parklife, most notably in the title track featuring Phil Daniels talking about the sights of his day, or on the putdown of fascination with American life in "Magic America". Other songs inhabit a more dismal theme of isolation or loneliness, best seen on the chart hit "To the End", a song of falling out of love or the themes of losing contact with a loved one on "Badhead". It makes an album that's a bit more cynical and sad than its predecessor, but one with arguably more rich exploration of ideas.
These strengths are, of course, exemplified by the greatness of the tunes, some of which can match the quality of the best moments on Modern Life. Every single from the album proves a highlight, from the upbeat "Girls & Boys" to the reflective somberness of the penultimate track "This is a Low", one of Blur's most brilliant moments. Outside of these ready-made radio hits, Blur dots this album with fun and eclectic moments which create a record that proves a very fun listening experience, if a sometime uneven one compared to the consistently fantastic predecessor. "Tracy Jacks" is a fan favorite, and with its fantastic chorus it's no wonder as to why this is. The acoustic textures of "Far Out", sung by Alex James instead of Damon, proves a fascinating diversion with a lovely atmosphere to boot. "Bank Holiday" is a high-paced punk moment honoring the particular holiday in which most folks in Britain get the day off work. "London Loves" is a fun new wave influenced track on the record with a great hook and a derision against the materialistic culture of the day - shoutouts to the noisy work of Graham Coxon on this track which, while not exactly musical at points, makes for a fascinating listen. "Trouble in the Message Center" is a bit of a weaker moment, but continues the new wave themes of the previous track and proves another peculiar listen. "Clover of Dover" is a sweet-sounding baroque pop moment made bittersweet from its lyrical contents about suicide in what is one of the record's more emotional moments. The previously mentioned "Magic America" has one of the album's absolute strongest hooks, and is quintessential Britpop at the heart. All of these moments help to elevate Parklife to its status as a collage of styles that all form the album's central themes and ideas.
This is the part where I touch on what Albarn said in 1990: by their third album, they would be the quintessential British group. Was he right? Well, kind of. Parklife did wonders in fully re-establishing the group, and topped the British charts at the time, but Blur was eventually undone later that year - not through being exposed as trend chasers or bad reviews or anything like that, but by pure shit luck. Two weeks before Parklife dropped in stores, the single "Supersonic" released from a little known new group in the Britpop style called Oasis - ring a bell? By the end of 1994, their debut Definitely Maybe will have become the fastest-selling debut in the UK and will have effectively stolen the thunder from Blur, igniting an intense and highly publicized feud going into 1995. But of course, that was nearly 30 years ago as of the time of writing, and Parklife has undoubtedly gotten its due since, as if getting its place on a British postage stamp wasn't enough. For many, Parklife remains Blur's apex of the Britpop years, a shining bouquet of melodies, sounds, and witty commentary that is a fixture of the genre. Well, I find its predecessor to be a bit more lovable, but that isn't to say Parklife is worse by any means, and it may very well remain the most explorative record of this period, and showcases a group that, for a brief moment, really were back on top.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Parklife.
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