WE TEND to believe that it’s the friction at the heart of great bands that leads to their best music (as typified by the conflict between Lennon’s journey to the heart of darkness versus McCartney’s journey to the heart of pop). So the news that the argumentative Graham Coxon had left Blur didn’t bode well. Surely a Coxon-less Blur would just be too damn comfortable. And yes, Think Tank is a comfortable record, but despite sounding as though the band were wearing slippers and cardies when they made it, Think Tank is also pretty marvellous. The angst has gone, but it’s been replaced by Damon Albarn’s awesome way with a simple melody (exactly how, when most songwriters struggle to come up with one good melody, does Albarn conjure up enough to supply two bands and a side-project?). Albarn’s tender, uncomplicated vocals are the star of the show. But Dave Rowntree and Alex James prove their worth with some mesmerising, laid-back grooves (see, in particular, the aptly titled Good Song, Brothers and Sisters and ... no, actually, they’re all good). Fatboy Slim is just a bit-part player, by the way, with most of the production handled by Ben Hillier, whose recent work includes conjuring equally lovely sounds with Elbow and Tom McRae.

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