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Albumism’s 100 Best Albums of 2021 | #37: Damon Albarn’s ‘The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows’

November 30, 2021 Albumism Staff

EXPLORE the full Best Albums of 2021 index here

#37 | Damon Albarn | The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows
Transgressive | Buy via Official Store

According to Quentin Harrison: “Much of the music—sourced from various genre provenances such as pop-soul (“Darkness to Light”), folktronica (“The Tower of Montevideo”), and alternative (“Polaris”)—won’t be unfamiliar to anyone who has followed Albarn’s journey for the last 30 years. What’s different this time around is how he structures these selections; pieces are given space to compositionally flow around that ever-handsome croon, but nothing wears out its welcome. . . . The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Streams Flows breaks no new ground, instead it expands on Albarn’s recognizable inclinations with more eccentric imagination. Given his penchant for the experimental, one must commend him for such continued devotion to making music without boundaries.” [Read the Full Review]

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