Rumors (or rumours, given the subject at hand) have swirled around the follow-up album to Adele’s massive hit 21 for years now. Recently, there was some scuttlebutt that the album will drop in November, but nothing is certain. What is certain is that Damon Albarn, he of Blur and Gorillaz, told The Sun that he’s heard some of the material for the album, and he’s not a fan.
Albarn and Danger Mouse helped Adele with the album, and Albarn called what he heard from the Danger Mouse material “very middle of the road.” He’s also not terribly enthused about the stuff he worked on, saying:
“Adele asked me to work with her and I took the time out for her. And I’m not a producer, so… I don’t know what is happening really. Will she use any of the stuff? I don’t think so. Let’s wait and see. The thing is, she’s very insecure. And she doesn’t need to be, she’s still so young.”
Leaving Albarn’s psychological profiling of a woman he barely knows, this is not exactly the kind of buzz Adele and company want around her new album, one imagines. Following up something as successful as 21 was destined to be difficult, and if the material is truly “very middle of the road,” it’s probably going to lead to a lot of disappointment.
Then again, like many of his fellow Britpop legends, Albarn is not exactly a congenial guy, so maybe he’s overstating things. We’ll have to wait for the finished product to find out how it sounds, and if Albarn’s contributions make it to the album, be it November, or some other time.
(Via Consequence of Sound)
