"The Narcissist" is a song by British rock band Blur. It was released on 18 May 2023 as the lead single for the band's ninth studio album ''

The Ballad of Darren ''The Ballad of Darren'' is the ninth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was released on 21 July 2023 by Parlophone and Warner Records. The album's songs were written by frontman Damon Albarn in 2022 while on tour with Gorillaz, and c ...

''. The release of the track marked the first new material by the band since ''

The Magic Whip ''The Magic Whip'' (stylised in Chinese text) is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's ...

'' in 2015. On Thursday 23rd May 2024, the work was nominated for the Best Song Musically and Lyrically Ivor Novello Award.

Reception

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the track 4 out of 5 stars, calling it far less counfounding and straightforward than " Go Out", the lead single of the band's previous record, ''The Magic Whip''. He also called the rhythm track and beat

Motorik Motorik is the 4/4 beat often used by, and heavily associated with, krautrock bands. Coined by music journalists, the term is German for "motor skill". The motorik beat was pioneered by Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental rock band ...

-esque. Mollie Potter of '' The Edge'' gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, calling the track a "brilliant, crafty acknowledgement of their past triumphs, alongside a recognition of their growth as a band in the decades following their nineties heydey". Christopher Jackson of ''

City A.M. ''City A.M.'' is a freesheet, free business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London, England, with an accompanying website. Its certified distribution was 85,738 copies a day in February 2020, according to statistics compiled by the A ...

'' described the track as a soundtrack to the summer. '' Consequence'' selected the track as its song of the week on 19 May 2023, calling it "an odyssey that builds but never implodes".

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "The Narcissist" peaked at number 81 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 2023, and was the band's first entry on the chart since "

Under the Westway "Under the Westway" is a single by English band Blur, released in July 2012. After being played by Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon at Brixton Academy as part of a charity performance for War Child, speculation rose as to "Under the Westway"'s re ...

" in 2012. In the United States, "The Narcissist" debuted on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart at number 37 on June 10, 2023. The song was Blur's first appearance on the chart since " Crazy Beat" in May 2003, which broke the record for the longest time between entries by a band in the chart's history.

Personnel

Blur *

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

– lead vocals, keyboards * Graham Coxon – guitar, backing vocals * Alex James – bass guitar *

Dave Rowntree David Alexander De Horne Rowntree (born 8 May 1964) is an English musician, politician, solicitor, composer and animator. He is the drummer for the rock band Blur and was a Labour Party councillor in Norfolk County Council from 2017 until 202 ...

– drums, percussion Additional Personnel * James Ford - keyboards

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narcissist 2023 singles 2023 songs Blur (band) songs Song recordings produced by James Ford (musician) Warner Records singles Parlophone singles Songs written by Damon Albarn