Album Review: Blur - The Magic Whip

Blur’s first album in 12 years will probably underwhelm those hoping for a return to the end-of-pier high-jinks of the Britpop icons’ most beloved output.

But while The Magic Whip carefully steers clear of anything vaguely evocative of Parklife or The Great Escape (Britpop’s very own bonfire of vanities), it does offer glimpses of the great band that always threatened to break out from the death grip of singer Damon Albarn’s obsession with the Kinks.