At a surprise press conference this morning, iconic Britpop band Blur announced that they would be releasing The Magic Whip, their first new album in 12 years, this April.
The Magic Whip is the band’s eighth album and their first with guitarist Graham Coxon since 1999’s 13. The band started recording during a five day session in Hong Kong in 2012. Further work was done this past November by the band and producer Stephen Street, who produced the band’s first five albums.
The band revealed the existence of the album in a Facebook livestream hosted by BBC DJ Zane Lowe at a Chinese restaurant in London. The complete press conference can be viewed here.
The announcement was accompanied by the video for the band’s new single, “Go Out.”
The album will be released on Apr. 27, internationally, and Apr. 28 in the U.S.. It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, iTunes and the band’s website. Those that pre-order the album from Amazon UK will get access to pre-sale tickets for the band’s June 20 performance at Hyde Park in London. In addition to being available as an instant gratification download with the pre-order, “Go Out” is also available for purchase separately.
The tracklisting for The Magic Whip:
1. Lonesome Street
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2. New World Towers
3. Go Out
4. Ice Cream Man
5. I Thought I Was a Spaceman
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6. I Broadcast
7. My Terracotta Heart
8. There Are Too Many of Us
9. Ghost Ship
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10. Pyongyang
11. Ong Ong
12. Mirrorball
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