7/10

While it is easy to remember Blur for their chart-topping hits like 'Parklife' and 'Song 2', fans of the band will distinctly remember the more brooding side to the group in their later years and it is this sound that has helped develop them on their return. Both their previously final album 'Think Tank' and the last one with Graham Coxon '13' were much more depressed than the happy-go-lucky summertime pop of their original albums, and it is this maturity and evolution that has helped cultivate the general vibe of 'The Magic Whip'.

After 12 years without any new material and all the members embarking on their own various projects and personal hobbies, you'd think that the magic would be long gone, but just like any great musical outfit, just bringing them back together can be enough to reignite their creative cohesion and this new full-length is a tribute to that. While many may say that it doesn't really sound like Blur anymore, it is mainly put down to their extensive hiatus. The band has missed out on more than a decade of progression and we are simply hearing them as they would have sounded even if they had continued releasing music in that time.

For those that heard Damon Albarn's solo album 'Everyday Robots' last year, this new album would making total sense. It is therapeutic and soothing in its presence and shows that distance from each other can be the best thing in order to create a truly fresh start.