Damon Albarn Drops Soothing New Song ‘Particles’

Damon Albarn has released a new song, “Particles,” the latest offering from his next solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows.

“Particles” is the album’s closing track and it finds Albarn crafting a soothing soundscape of guitars, keys, strings and synths, all of which drift over what sounds like the steady rush of a stream. Accompanying the song is the second in a series of films titled “Subline Boulevards — Performance Films.”

“Particles” is the third offering from The Nearer the Fountain, following “Polaris” and the title track. The album — which takes its title from a John Clare poem, “Love and Memory” — marks Albarn’s second solo album, following 2014’s Everyday Robots. The LP originally began as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland, but Albarn eventually expanded the project into a full-length album during lockdown last year.

Amidst the rollout for The Nearer the Fountain, Albarn’s animated outfit Gorillaz surprise-released a three-track EP, Meanwhile, to celebrate Carnival and West London. The project features contributions from Jelani Blackman, Barrington Levy, AJ Tracy and Alicaì Harley.