The Magic Whip | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 27 April 2015 | |||
Recorded | May 2013, November 2014 – January 2015 | |||
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Length | 51:42 | |||
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Producer | ||||
Blur chronology | ||||
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Damon Albarn chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Magic Whip | ||||
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The Magic Whip (stylised in Chinese text) is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London,and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003),marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career,and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up (Coxon featuring on only one song on Think Tank). [2] The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997).
The album received acclaim from music critics. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart,marking Blur's sixth UK number-one album. It has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 100,000 copies. It is the first album by the band in North America under Warner Bros.,after Blur were transferred from Virgin Records in 2013,following the purchase of EMI and its assets by the Universal Music Group in 2012.
In May 2013,Blur were set to play Japan's Tokyo Rocks Music festival. However,the entire festival was canceled for unknown reasons,leaving the band stranded in Hong Kong for an extra five days. In an attempt to distract themselves,they worked on new material in Avon Studios,as announced by lead singer Damon Albarn during the gig at AsiaWorld–Expo,Chek Lap Kok. Albarn later stated he was unsure whether the resulting music would ever be released. In July 2014,he commented,"There are about 15 songs...the annoying thing is,if I'd been able to write the lyrics there and then about being there,we'd have finished the record. But sometimes,if you can't do it all at once,it dissipates really and I don't know what I'd sing about now with that record. There's some great tunes on there,but it may just be one of those records that never comes out." [3]
In November 2014,Graham Coxon started to work further on the recordings with producer Stephen Street,while Albarn was touring his solo album, Everyday Robots (2014). Coxon commented "I kept thinking about the recordings we had made in Hong Kong and remembering how good it felt. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I hadn't had another look". [2] Coxon would secretly invite Alex James and Dave Rowntree to further recording sessions to build upon the material. Once nearing completion,Coxon presented the music to Albarn to see if it was worthy of an album. On the way back from his tour of Australia in December,Albarn stopped in Hong Kong once more for lyrical inspiration. Vocals were completed towards the end of January 2015 and the album's mastering was finished on 18 February 2015,the day before the album was announced to the press in London's Chinatown. [4]
The album cover artwork has the words blur and magic whip written in Chinese surrounding an ice cream cone,all rendered in neon-lit fashion. Art director Tony Hung,who created the lyric video for "Go Out",the first track to be released from the album,met with frontman Damon Albarn in early 2015 to discuss the album artwork and was shown photos and ephemera from the singer's travels in Hong Kong. "The album title,The Magic Whip [Albarn] explained,was multifaceted," says Hung. "An ice cream in the UK,a firework in China and a 'whip' in a political sense. These extremes would reflect the different textures,breadth,and depth of the album." Hung says that the band wanted a cover that touched on those themes and that also had a "rawer feel" to give a sense of how the record came together in Hong Kong (the band recorded quickly,in a small studio in the city). [5]
The video for "Go Out" was uploaded to YouTube on 19 February 2015. Videos for "There Are Too Many of Us","Lonesome Street","Ong Ong",and "I Broadcast" followed on 20 March,2 April,3 June,and 8 September 2015,respectively. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] "Ong Ong",along with "My Terracotta Heart" and "I Broadcast" were previously made available shortly before the album's release as promotional singles,and their official audios were uploaded to YouTube on 18,21 and 23 April 2015,respectively. [11] [12] "Y'all Doomed",the bonus track on the Japanese edition,was released as a 7-inch single on 27 April 2015. [13] "Ghost Ship",alongside a re-release of "I Broadcast",were later released as promotional singles on 23 October 2015. [14] [15]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.6/10 [16] |
Metacritic | 81/100 [17] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [18] |
The A.V. Club | B− [19] |
Chicago Tribune | [20] |
The Daily Telegraph | [21] |
The Guardian | [22] |
NME | 8/10 [23] |
Pitchfork | 7.0/10 [24] |
Q | [25] |
Rolling Stone | [26] |
Spin | 8/10 [27] |
At Metacritic,which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from critics,the album received an average score of 81,indicating "universal acclaim",based on 35 reviews. [17]
DIY magazine critic Stephen Ackroyd stated:"Their magic remains as strong as ever." [28] Helen Brown of The Telegraph stated that the album "turns out to be a triumphant comeback",and noted that "it retains the band's core identity while allowing ideas they'd fermented separately over the past decade to infuse their sound with mature and peculiar new flavour combinations." [21] Andy Gill of The Independent gave the album a positive review,calling it "a beautiful comeback". [29] Spin writer Andrew Unterberger gave the album an 8/10 rating and said,"Magic Whip is a fun album,nearly as much as any Gorillaz LPs," adding,"Magic Whip finds enough majesty and intrigue in the band's more meditative days to remain worthy company to any of the band's classic LPs." [30] Writing for the Rolling Stone magazine and giving the album four out of five stars,David Fricke called the album "A dark,seductive set that cements a legacy",stating that "Blur have returned with inspiration to spare." [26]
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
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NME | NME's Albums of the Year 2015 | 2015 | 15 [31] |
Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 23 [32] |
Rolling Stone | 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 10 [33] |
All tracks are written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Lonesome Street" | 4:23 |
2. | "New World Towers" | 4:03 |
3. | "Go Out" | 4:41 |
4. | "Ice Cream Man" | 3:25 |
5. | "Thought I Was a Spaceman" | 6:16 |
6. | "I Broadcast" | 2:51 |
7. | "My Terracotta Heart" | 4:05 |
8. | "There Are Too Many of Us" | 4:25 |
9. | "Ghost Ship" | 5:00 |
10. | "Pyongyang" | 5:46 |
11. | "Ong Ong" | 3:08 |
12. | "Mirrorball" | 3:39 |
Total length: | 51:42 |
No. | Title | Length |
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13. | "Y'all Doomed" | 3:57 |
Total length: | 55:39 |
Blur
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications
|
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994, by Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and "To the End".
Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group's previous album, 13 (1999), the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz, and African music, an indication of songwriter Damon Albarn's expanding musical interests.
Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.
13 is the sixth studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released on 15 March 1999. Continuing the stylistic shift away from the Britpop sound of the band's early career, 13 explores experimental, psychedelic and electronic music.
Gorillaz is the debut studio album by English virtual band Gorillaz, released on 26 March 2001 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and June 19, 2001 in the United States by Virgin Records. The album reached number three in the UK and number fourteen in the US, and the top ten in several other countries. Gorillaz has sold over seven million copies worldwide. The album's success earned the group an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most Successful Virtual Band", and spawned the singles "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House", and "Tomorrow Comes Today".
"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released on 20 January 1997 as the lead single from the band's eponymous fifth album, Blur (1997). Written about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's experiences with heroin, the song features Beatles-influenced music and a mood that Albarn described as "sleepy" and "sexy". Despite fears of the song's uncommercial nature, the single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Blur's second track to top the chart. It has since appeared on several Blur compilations.
"Popscene" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, released as a non-album single on 30 March 1992. Despite its relatively low chart placing, it has since become critically praised and regarded as one of the pioneering songs of the Britpop genre.
"Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released physically on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming one of their biggest U.S. hits.
"M.O.R." is a song by English rock band Blur from their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997. Worldwide, it reached number 45 in New Zealand and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released in August 1994 by Food and Parlophone as the third single from the band's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The song contains spoken-word verses by the actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the music video, which was directed by Pedro Romhanyi.
"Coffee & TV" is a song by British rock band Blur. It was written by the band's guitarist, Graham Coxon, who also sang lead vocals rather than frontman Damon Albarn. The song appears on Blur's sixth studio album, 13 (1999), and was the second single released from the album on 28 June 1999. The lyrics describe Coxon's struggle with alcoholism and the song's video, featuring a sentient milk carton searching for Coxon, won several awards. Commercially, "Coffee & TV" reached No. 11 in the United Kingdom and No. 26 in Ireland. It was a major hit in Iceland, where it peaked at No. 2 in September 1999.
"Out of Time" is a song by British band Blur from their seventh studio album, Think Tank (2003). The song was written and produced by band members Damon Albarn, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, with Ben Hillier also serving as a producer. After being premiered via BBC Radio 1 on 3 March, it was released as the album's lead single on 14 April 2003, by Parlophone. The song became the band's first release without guitarist Graham Coxon. It is a pop ballad featuring acoustic guitars and bass, as well as a Moroccan orchestra. Lyrically, it deals with a civilisation that has lost touch, with Coxon's departure being referenced in the lyrics.
"Girls & Boys" is a song by English Britpop band Blur, released in March 1994 by Food Records as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it.
The discography of English rock band Blur consists of nine studio albums, six live albums, five compilation albums, one remix album, two video albums, four extended plays, 35 singles, 10 promotional singles and 37 music videos. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Three years later, their debut release, the Madchester and shoegazing-tinged Leisure (1991), peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart. Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) inaugurated the Britpop phase of their career. Its multi-Platinum follow-ups Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995) helped the band achieve mainstream popularity in Britain; every Blur studio album from Parklife onwards has topped the British charts.
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"Lonesome Street" is a song by English rock band Blur. It was released on 2 April 2015 as the third single from their eighth studio album, The Magic Whip (2015). "Lonesome Street" was released to American radio on 30 March 2015.
The Ballad of Darren is the ninth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was released on 21 July 2023 by Parlophone and Warner Records. The album's songs were written by frontman Damon Albarn in 2022 while on tour with Gorillaz, and composed by Albarn and the rest of the band. It was produced by James Ford at Studio 13 in London and Devon. It is Blur's first album since The Magic Whip (2015), and their shortest album, with a runtime under 40 minutes. The album's artwork features a 2004 photograph of a man swimming alone in the Gourock Outdoor Pool in Gourock, Scotland, taken by Martin Parr. Its title refers to Darren "Smoggy" Evans, the band's longtime bodyguard.