Blur recorded The Ballad of Darren in the first half of 2023, at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 in London and in Devon, with James Ford producing. The ninth studio album runs under forty minutes and sounds more restrained than the work that made the band's name: songs about loss, getting older and what is left afterwards, with "The Narcissist", "St. Charles Square" and "Barbaric" as singles. The title refers to Darren Evans, the band's bodyguard for many years. The sleeve uses a Martin Parr photograph of a swimmer at the outdoor pool in Gourock, Scotland. The album entered at number 1 in the UK and Mojo placed it at the top of its 2023 end-of-year list.

This edition is an LP on blue vinyl, released as an indie edition.