Blur – No Distance Left to Run Review

Tender and No Distance Left to Run may have the same heartbreak at its core, but the difference is astounding. Tender is a hopeful ballad of perseverance. No Distance Left to Run is an acceptance of failure. Damon Albarn throws in the towel on one of the best Blur songs around. It is easy to write up these songs as the best-ever tracks from the band but at the time it sounded much harsher, left-field and even alienating. Compared to the twee charms of their previous pop moves, it must have been a bitter pill to swallow. Blur sinks into reality and finds themselves incapable of chirping along with their tongue-in-cheek style. Instead, the brutality of the world around them and their rough experiences with fame form the base of a brilliant piece of work – and no better is it highlighted than Tender and this, No Distance Left to Run.  

We all run out of road. Knowing when to stop is the next step. Those scratches of self-doubt or nervousness, the unknown circling in what used to be a clear direction, that is the hang-up presenting itself on No Distance Left to Run. It may base itself on the break-up of Albarn and Elastica lead Justine Frischmann, but it is the impact of this end of the road that leads No Distance Left to Run to some startlingly honest places. It is beyond depressing and often shines a light on a morbid reality for Blur at this time. No member was in working order. Excess, drugs, and the pop powers of the preceding years had burnt too brightly. “It’s over,” those opening lyrics mourn. This is not just a letter of thanks and romance to Frischmann but a desperate attempt at reviving the self. What else is there to do when out of road than to reverse? To walk away and head down another avenue of potential. How far we get is the battle No Distance Left to Run observes. 

It remains a staggering piece of emotionally charged work two decades on from its release. Slowed rock horrors, with Graham Coxon reserved in his playing and stripping back the usual flavours of his instrumental distortion. This is a straight and narrow guitar song, with percussion suitably flowing underneath. The focus is lyrical heartbreak, and in the context of 13, it means album closer Optigan I has the mean task of picking up the pieces. It never does, and for the single release, it was left to a Cornelius remix of Tender. Trying to add jolly acoustics to it is a bold move, but it works. A bright, rooted folk sound pairs well with the openness from Albarn and the additional vocals from Coxon. It works well, and Cornelius plays around with the light flourishes which hope to bring a pop of optimism to it.

And yet after all this, the real standout is a song which has been snubbed by Blur entirely. So You is a tremendous extension of the No Distance Left to Run and Tender spiral. Within that B-Side rarity is a tremendous run of instrumental excess, well-needed after the spots of almost minimalist tracks before it. Tender is a repetitive piece from Coxon and No Distance Left to Run, while exceptionally memorable, does not give him the chance to expel any instrumental itches. So You does, and for that reason, it feels a bit more upbeat – more from the wider range of guitar work at play than anything else. It feels like the awkward end of a moving piece, but it is this lighter and yet stark contrast which makes No Distance Left to Run stand out so remarkably well.