By Jamie Hill
Blur - The Magic Whip - A Review
I’ve always been a big Blur fan. And since Think Tank 12 years ago, there’s been a massive Blur shaped hole in my life.
Okay. We’ve had Blur-lite in the form of The Gorillaz plus various solo incarnations by Damon and Graham and I’ve even eaten some of Alex James’s cheese. Urm and whatever Dave Rowntree has been up to. But it wasn’t filling the gap. Not even the cheese. I always felt that it wasn’t true Blur. Not ‘Great Escape’ Blur or ‘13’ Blur.
So now we have their new album. The Magic Whip.
I’ve got to admit it was pretty nerve-wracking playing it for the first time as so many artists make their comeback and never fulfil the glories of yesteryear and become a mere shadow of their former selves.
I’m pleased to say this is not the case with Blur. If this review comes across as a bit of a love letter I’m sorry. But I genuinely have fallen in love with The Magic Whip.
From the opening refrains of Lonesome Street you know you are in proper Blur land. It feels the same. It has that same energy and raw power.
It’s just as rewarding as previous albums. With new surprises on every listen. There’s beauty in the form of issue-based There Are Too May Of Us, New World Towers, My Terracotta Heart and Pyongyang and prog weirdness in tracks like Thought I Was A Spaceman and Mirrorball.
There’s even the odd goofball antics from The Country House days with Ice Cream Man - which is already a favourite of my children (and mine).
My personal listen though is Ong Ong. I can’t get enough of it. I could just listen to it for days. It makes me smile every time I play it. Not since Tender have I loved a song so much.
Blur have made the wait very worthwhile. Please don’t go away again. I don’t know if I could cope without you.