It’s been 12 years since Blur released Think Tank, leaving the Brit-pop faithful with only the occasional new song for succor. So where have Damon Albarn and friends been? Besides on the road, the rockstar-ready answer is in Hong Kong, where the band began recording tracks for a new album back in 2013. Last November guitarist/singer Graham Coxon revisited the tracks with longtime Blur producer Stephen Street, followed by Albarn, who contributed lyrics. Thus dubbed The Magic Whip, the album has been deemed ready for international public consumption beginning on April 27. (The U.S. will get it on April 28.) The announcement was made, appropriately enough, from a Chinese restaurant in London’s Chinatown.
Blur has also released the first track off The Magic Whip, called “Go Out.” A lyric video for the song and a full track listing are below. As for a tour, the band will perform at Hyde Park in London on June 20; asked about a U.S. tour, the band reportedly said, “Maybe, if anyone’s interested.”
Blur, The Magic Whip
Lonesome Street
New World Towers
Go Out
Ice Cream Man
Thought I Was a Spaceman
I Broadcast
My Terracotta Heart
There are Too Many of Us
Ghost Ship
Pyongyang
Ong Ong
Mirror Ball