Blur

 (John Anson Ford Theater, Hollywood; 1,200 seats; $ 15.50)

By PHIL GALLO

Presented by Goldenvoice/Virgin Records. Reviewed Oct. 10, 1995.
 
Band: Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree.
 

Cleverness never goes out of style with Brit rockers, and Blur may well be the best thing to come along since the Kinks. With a relentless snappiness Tuesday, the quartet from Colchester balanced an aggressive attack with Beatles-ish calm and an occasional percolating rhythm -- all of it well paced and well executed, with glorious sense of purpose.

Band performed 10 of the 15 tracks from new Virgin disc "The Great Escape," most of which exhibit the complexity and depth lead singer and goofy keyboardist Damon Albarn has brought to his songwriting in the four years since the band's debut, "Leisure." Midway through the 80-minute set, Blur moved away from soothing pop ("End of a Century,""To the End") and chunky rockers ("Jubilee, ""Tracy Jacks") and started showing its unique flair for layering disparate textures into coherent and ebullient rock 'n' roll.

It started with the kitschy Latin beat of "Fade Away" and galvanized on the ambitious and moody "This Is a Low." Final dozen songs performed showed how adept this band is at mixing and matching: A hip-hop cadence over crunchy guitar lines on "Country House," for example, that works its way into an eerie church organ segment over which Albarn's voice echoes with dark passion. Final bonus came on first encore -- the debut live perf of the bare and gripping "Entertain Me."

Moods were set beautifully by lighting designer Dave Byars, whose inventive use of strobes and sudden baths of a single hue provided an added focus.