Think Tank is Blur's seventh album to date. It was released in the UK on 5 May 2003. The cover art is a stencil by the famous graffiti artist Banksy. In sonic terms, this album is distinct from earlier Blur records as it relies more on electronic and minimal textures instead of typical Britpop signifiers like big guitars and anthemic pacing. The lyrical themes deal with subjects related to modern British club culture and partying, as well as relationships and personal character problems. Many re...
Think Tank is Blur's seventh album to date. It was released in the UK on 5 May 2003. The cover art is a stencil by the famous graffiti artist Banksy. In sonic terms, this album is distinct from earlier Blur records as it relies more on electronic and minimal textures instead of typical Britpop signifiers like big guitars and anthemic pacing. The lyrical themes deal with subjects related to modern British club culture and partying, as well as relationships and personal character problems. Many references to clubbing, consumption, and spur of the moment impulses are scattered throughout different songs. These illicit allusions ultimately led to the album receiving a Parental Advisory logo - Think Tank is the only Blur album to get this rating.
To record the album, Blur relocated to Morocco. Some have argued this change of scenery has obvious effects on the album as many songs have "non-Western" world melodies and sounds. On top of this geographic move, the band integrated new players into their mix. Fatboy Slim mixes two of the tracks ("Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene") giving parts of the album a dance music feel. During the recording of this album, the guitarist Graham Coxon quit the band; to many Blur fans, this was very upsetting, as Coxon was highly regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of contemporary times. Allegedly, the group confronted and clashed with Coxon's alcoholism and had other unresolved disputes. He did contribute to some songs before leaving, and many people agree that his stylistic signature seems to show up most on "Battery in Your Leg" with its big rush of a distorted, delayed guitar swooping down into the song seemingly out of nowhere.
The album was well received critically. On top of receiving a nomination for Best British Album at the 2004 BRIT Awards, it earned Q Magazine's Album of the Year Award. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
