Blur have spoken about their new album The Magic Whip, which was announced yesterday [February 19].

In an interview broadcast on BBC 6 Music, Damon Albarn explained that the album was kept a secret because it wasn’t finished until yesterday. “We finished mixing last Friday and we literally mastered it yesterday,” he explained. “The reason that we’ve kept it secret is because we didn’t have a record until yesterday!”

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Albarn also discussed the band’s last album, 2003’s Think Tank, which was recorded without guitarist Graham Coxon. “It’s… got some real stinkers on it – there’s some bollocks on there,” he commented, adding that The Magic Whip was a “proper Blur album” thanks to presence of Coxon. “There was an element of making amends with the guys but the fact [is] that I thought there was good music there and it’s a duty to deal with it,” said Coxon.

The Magic Whip is released on April 27. Hear new song “Go Out” below.

Blur will also headline London’s Hyde Park for fourth time in June with additional gigs planned after the Hyde Park date.