Ain’t nothing like a special Friday treat to end your working week, and they don’t come any better than a legendary band revealing the ultimate of surprises.

British icons Blur have announced a brand-spankin’ new record, The Magic Whip, which comes out April 27, and to make things even better, they’ve released the first track from the forthcoming album, ‘Go Out’, as Triple J reports.

In typical Blur fashion, the four-piece unveiled the album in a surprise press conference held in a Chinese restaurant in London this morning, more than likely an intentional move considering The Magic Whip comprises of material recorded and finalised in Hong Kong.

This is Blur’s eighth LP, their first since 2003’s Think Tank, and also marks the return of their original guitarist Graham Coxon who hasn’t featured on a Blur album since 1999’s 13. 

Coxon spoke with Triple J of the upcoming record, “Weirdly, because it’s got our voices on it, it does sound like Blur. It’s a weird thing to describe. There’s a lot of softer stuff, a lot of big expansive sounds. Some really beautiful and almost sentimental moments as well. It covers a lot of ground.”

When probed with the question of Blur making a great return to Australia after pulling out of 2014’s Big Day Out, he said the band were solely focusing on an upcoming gig at London’s Hyde Park, and that’s all for now, you can read the full interview here.

Take a listen to the catchy as hell ‘Go Out’ below, and view the full track-listing and album artwork underneath.

The Magic Whip Track List & Artwork

1. Lonesome Street
2. New World Towers
3. Go Out
4. Ice Cream Man
5. Tonight I Was A Spaceman
6. I Broadcast
7. My Terracotta Heart
8. There Are Too Many Of Us
9. Ghost Ship
10. Pyongyang
11. Ong Ong
12. Mirrorballs

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