The Magic Whip

WOW! I have now listened to this 4 times back to back.I am a massive Blur fan and this sent shivers down my spine (in the good way!) from the first chord of the first song. What a feel good album and has had me smiling all day! Ong Ong is my favorite song but there are already instant classics on there too, Lonesome Street (love the beginning - reminds me a little of the ending of London Loves with the news extracts playing in the background), Ghost Ship and the 'haunting' Pyongyang are just superb! I really don't understand the 2 start reviews. No guitars?? Can you not hear them? Very strange comment in my mind. But I guess not everyone can have the same tastes. I'd urge you to read all the 5 star comments. I've been nervously waiting for this album as I was not a huge fan of Think Tank - although its grown on me. But this, this is just something else! Blur back in the Park life days, the crazy Great escape tracks and the cool sounds of Leisure... in fact i'm going to listen to it again for a 5th time right now!!

To me, this is my favourite album of the year so far. I am a huge Oasis and Paul Weller fan...and was always more Oasis than Blur back in 'the day'. However, I think this album is superior to Noel's latest solo effort and provides a lot more depth and variety to anything new I have listened to so far in 2015. This is a well worked album with old classic Blur versus some new experimental material. Songs like 'Thought I Was A Spaceman' (give it time, it will grow on you), Ghost Ship and Ong Ong really show how these guys have grown, matured and show the world that they are actually very good musicians who can knock out a fantastic record. Trust me, it takes 4-5 listens to fall in love with it. After that, you'll look forward to listening to it each time and will not shelve it like the shallow reviewers on here who have given it only 1 or 2 stars.

Blur are my favourite band and I have loved them for 20 years. A new album has been a fantasy for over half of that time. There have been tantalising teasers with a few new songs since the return of Graham Coxon in 2009 - my favourite being 'Fool's Day' - a surprise single for Record Store Day in 2010. Then there were two new tracks in 2012. It seems these were worthy water-testers and probably made being couped up in a studio in Hong Kong for 5 days in mid 2013 a little less weird than it would've been. But the resulting album doesn't sound as nostalgic and introspective as the warm up singles - it sounds as though the band are a whole lot less self-conscious about making new music. There are elements from all of blur's post debut album work here. Lonesome Street does sound like it would've been happy on Parklife or The Great Escape, while the noisy Go Out, cheeky I Broadcast and the wistful Mirrorball could've been on Blur or 13. There's an exotic feel to the whole record just like the North African vibe on Think Tank, but this time it's China/Hong Kong. And then there are songs that only really belong on a blur album made by a highly successful indie-rock god (Coxon) and globally recognised musical magpie (Albarn) - safe in their own identities. Thought I was a Spaceman, Ghost Ship and Pyongyang only really belong on a mature blur album. These are songs where you can tell the four chaps have nothing to proove and really know how to serve a song together. It's possibly a minor complaint, but the album does play it a little safe. Only Go Out and ...Spaceman really remind us that this band are capable of such incredible depth as found on Blur and 13 in particular. This is therefore a more song based album than jam/soundscape as the late 90s blur was so good at. Even Think Tank took more risks. But, the songs are excellent and the essential elements of blur are all in good shape. Coxon has held back in order to let the overall effect be more about the whole sound. But it's certainly not easy to compare Magic Whip with Everyday Robots - the presence of Coxon, James and Rowntree lift Albarn's songs into musical excellence and nuance that all his work without them lack so much. You can't replace that chemistry, and for that reason I hope that this is not a final blur album. Together, they are the greatest British group since The Beatles in my opinion.

Wow. I thought no new Blur album for all these years had never really bothered me as i had the Gorillaz, Coxon and The Good, the Bad and the Queen albums to enjoy. I was wrong, the build up and then release of The Magic Whip has been so exciting, and then to finally hear it. Its my current favourite Blur album, haha!! Lonesome Street, I Broadcast and Ong Ong are my current faves but these across time will be replaced by others less immediate on the album. I've pinched the following ending from a magazine review but it sums up well. Yes, Blur went away. No, they’ve not come back to rehash the hits. But on that ninth listen, with the lights off, they’re a band still able to find new emotional triggers their contemporaries have yet to discover. Their magic remains as strong as ever.

Wow! It takes something to be away from recording as a group for 12 years and then return with, quite possibly, your best album ever. Can't quite see the Gallagher brothers pulling that one off. There again, Blur v Oasis was always a non-contest: a guitar band with a couple of reasonable first albums against one of the truly great, innovative British groups. Somehow it's all there: it sounds like Blur but it forges ahead too. Bowie-esqe subtle lyrics, memorable guitar, and just somehow sounding as 90s as it does 2015. How does anyone pull that off? Not a duff track to be found. Personal favourites are probably Ghost Ship and Go Out. But they all cut it. This should be enough for all existing Blur fans and win them new followers too. Simply the best.

Impeccable

El regreso de una banda histórica. Dieron en el clavo superándose una vez más con su nuevo material, gran disco.

Forse i fan della prima ora non saranno d'accordo con me ma.. Secondo me il loro secondo miglior disco (dopo "blur" del 1997) di sempre: maturo, ispirato, poi loro sono sempre una grande band.

After a staggering 12 years, Blur is back and it's like they've hardly been gone. Leaving behind the Britpop scene back in the 90's Blur has consistently been on the edge of creating great music album after album.... ok enough of the intro, time to get to the nitty gritty. How does The Magic Whip hold up after Blur has been in limbo for more than a decade? Well in short, it's amazing. Let's get down to it. 1: Lonesome Street - What an intro! A track that sounds as though it could have been right off of Great Escape or Parklife. It's got a light nice poppy feel to it without getting nauseating. It feels like a classic Blur track that's a hey day to their more poppy days. I gotta say, it sounds like Albarn hasn't aged a day. 2: New World Towers - Ok I have to admit, while I've only had this album for a day now I've been listening to it almost non-stop. This track has certainly grown on me during that time. At first I wasn't thrilled with it, especially after the jam packed opener we're greeted to with Lonesome Street. New World Towers is a quieter track that sounds like something that might be more at home on an Albarn solo album. However after listening to it several times it's won me over. Albarn is able to paint a rainy scene a neon lit downtown view through a hotel room, or at least that's what I picture when I listen to this track. It's nice to hear Coxon finally back on a Blur album. 3: Go Out - This song is. My. JAM! Love the feedback intro which goes right along with the rushed gritty feel this album has overall. Song features a lot of distorted guitar work which fits perfectly with the lyrics of this song, the blurred shamblings of someone bar hopping and just looking for someone to dance with. 4: Ice Cream Man - This has to be one of the more unusual tracks on this album but that doesn't make it any less fantastic. Featuring a hypnotic electronic-pop track in the background which clashes perfectly against the more acoustic guitar work found within this track. The ambiguity of the ice cream man and his "magic whip" seems like a throwback to their more politically charged album Think Tank. 5: I Thought I Was A Spaceman - Another track that grew on me since I first listened to the album. A slower track that feels as spacey as it's name implies. I wasn't a huge fan at first of the amount of reverb on the vocals and it felt a little too slow but like I said, it grew on me. This track eventually builds up to an impressive mix of guitars and electronics. 6: I Broadcast - This album certainly sends the listener on a roller coaster of sound as we return to another more fast paced, poppy type song. While this is the shortest song on the track (clocking in at just under three minutes) it doesn't feel short. The perfect length for this type of song. 7: My Terracotta Heart - A "love" song of sorts describing Damon Albarn's fragile relationship between himself and Graham Coxen. A fantastic song with a lot of soul and heart (no pun intended), the chorus is amazing. The guitar work in this song helps pull along the sad undertones that the lyrics paint. This song makes me think a lot about the people that I've let slip through my fingers and fall out of my life. 8: There Are Too Many Of Us - I've heard a few people saying this felt more like a Gorillaz track and I can totally see that line of thinking. Drumming gives it almost a militaristic feel, supplemented with a crisp sounding acoustic guitar throughout. In the background there's mixture of violins and electronic music which gives it a nice alternating between acoustic sounds and harsher electronic sounds. 9: Ghost Ship - I have to say, one of the greatest things about Blur is their range. They're not simply a rock band, they incorporate so many sounds into their music and Ghost Ship is a highlight of that ability. This track gives off a groovy tropical, reggie and almost ska inspired vibe. It's certainly a song I can picture myself listening to while chilling out on the beach. Song moves along at a nice even pace. 10: Pyongyang - Who knew that Albarn could write such a beautiful song about such a depressing place? This song features a somber sounding Albarn with almost haunting ambient music that follows suite. Albarn is able to paint a picture of the longing one feels when leaving a place they've felt a real connection to. This song reminds me a lot of Hong Kong by Gorillaz. 11: Ong Ong - We're almost at the end! This track seems like another throw back to a more classic sounding Blur. Reminds me a lot of When the Cows Come Home. Features great mixture of electronic and acoustic guitars and a backing of "Lah lah lahs" that'll get ya singing along in no time. 12: Mirrorball - The closing song of Magic Whip and what a closer, nothing crazy or explosive. In fact it's almost the opposite of the opener, a more toned down song, perfect for ending this album. It sounds almost western-y at times strangely enough (again, showing off that versatility the band has). I absolutely love the guitar in this song and included is this song is I believe an Erhu, a traditional Chinese two stringed instrument. It creates the perfect contrast between East and West sounds as a final farewell to this beautiful musical landscape the listener has traveled through. Overall I strongly and highly recommend this album to Blur fans and those who are new to Blur alike. The versatility in this album is phenomenal and it will simply grow on you with every repeated listen. My favourite tracks are: Go Out, My Terracotta Heart, and There Are Too Many Of Us.

Ótimo disco que me surpreendeu, a qualidade sonora também é muito boa, compatível com o padrão do produto.