CD of The Week

Blur surprised most of their fans and the collective music world earlier this year by announcing they would be releasing their new album, The Magic Whip, in April. It was long believed to have been shelved after Damon Albarn had said he didn’t feel like the band’s recording sessions from Hong Kong in 2013 would ever materialize into a record due to him being unable to finish lyrics for it at the time. Thankfully for fans of the band, lead guitarist Graham Coxon, who had previously left the band in the middle of the recording the 2003 album Think Tank, really believed in the material they had created during those sessions and with Albarn’s blessing, revisited the sessions with producer Stephen Street (who worked on a few of the classic Blur albums of the 90s).

The two of them found enough material that they thought it worthy of releasing and Damon went back to Hong Kong where the sessions had been held originally for lyrical inspiration. To the delight of Blur fans, he found it and here we are with the band’s first release in 12 years and first with its original lineup in 16 years.

The resulting album is a very cohesive piece that sees the band strike a balance of sounds they have covered on previous albums, as well as reaching some new sonic ground. Album opener “Lonesome Street” feels like it could have easily fit on to either Parklife or The Great Escape while also having a distinct Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd quality to it. On “Thought I Was a Spaceman,” Albarn waxes philosophical in a style reminiscent of David Bowie, while the rest of the band slowly layer on their unique touches as the song builds to its climax. The string-driven “There Are Too Many of Us” is a haunting song that feels like it draws inspiration from a previous side project of Albarn’s,The Good The Bad and The Queen. While lead-off single “Go Out” and “I Broadcast” feel like instant classic Blur songs that could go as far back in the catalog as the band’s debut Leisure. “Ice Cream Man” sees the band experimenting with some psychedelic sounds that sound like almost like Animal Collective at moments. Drummer Dave Rowntree is in top form on the Reggae-insprired “Ghost Ship”. “Ong Ong” is a lyrical love letter to the city the album was recorded in. The album is at its best in its more quiet and introspective moments, such as in ballads “Mirrorball” and “My Terracotta Heart,” which sneaks in a very funky bassline byAlex James that is a surprising counterpoint to the Middle Eastern sounding guitar work in the song.

While the album does share a lot of sonic ground with previous works from the band it pushes the band’s sound forward in equal parts, making it worth the long wait for fans. Blur is playing shows in the UK and Australia as of now, and hopefully for American fans, the new album also means they’ll make a return to stages here as well.