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Damon Albarn Explores the World in ‘Lonely Press Play’ Video

Damon Albarn, "Lonely, Press Play," 'Everyday Robots,' video, Blur, 15 songs

Damon Albarn is alone yet not alone in enough senses for a movie that might actually deserve an Oscar. The Blur frontman has unveiled the studio version of his upcoming solo album’s “Lonely Press Play,” which he previously performed at Sundance, and both the song and its accompanying video — filled with simple yet majestic shots of air travel and time-passing gadgets — stand out for the simultaneously humane and awe-filled way they address our engagement with technology. Even pre-Internet tech like, y’know, the jumbo jet.

And the Blur frontman just told NME his beloved band has recorded 15 new songs, though he emphasized he doesn’t plan to let us to hear them anytime soon. The song itself is a spacious, buzzing melange of aching organic sounds and complementary electronic filaments; the video, shot by Damon on his tablet across Tokyo, London, Dallas, Utah, North Korea, Iceland, the U.K. cities of Devon and Colchester, can find equal beauty in an airport tram, a recharging mobile device, or, like, rainbows and fireworks. Press play when you’re lonely or not. Everyday Robots is due out April 29.