By 1999 they had become a noisy art-rock outfit using the slightly less terrible name Blur. A lot happened in between. Parklife pulled them out of the indie ghetto and into the British tabloids, but a foolish, if fun battle with Oasis overshadowed 1996's The Great Escape . If the early Stone Roses had cranked up their amps or The Smiths had ever gone psychedelic, Leisure might have been the result. But it was Blur that gave us Leisure , and while the lush pop psychedelia of their debut doesn't offer much foresight into the sharp little band that developed, it certainly shows that whatever direction these boys decide to take, they've got loads of promise.
Leisure is luxuriously mellow.
It's not all ethereal, though. Don't think that I really need you to. The song's aggression sneaks up and knocks you over, courtesy of Graham 's deft guitar work. Parklife or even Blur is, but even on this debut Blur were too accomplished to be lumped in with the Britpop lightweights who would follow them. Although Damon's lyrics don't pack the wit and sentiment they would on later albums, the musicianship of the band gets the message through.