[Shaun]

Blur have announced The Magic Whip, their first album since 2003's Think Tank. That's the album art up there. It's out April 27 internationally and April 28 in the U.S. Listen to new track "Go Out" below, via a lyric video.

The announcement was made via a live streamed press conference from a Chinese restaurant in London hosted by Zane Lowe. Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year.

Blur also announced they're going to perform at Hyde Park in London on June 20. When asked if they're going to perform in America, the band replied, "maybe, if anyone's interested."

Damon Albarn said that the song "Pyongyang" is about his experience visiting North Korea.

In an interview with NME last year, Albarn mentioned that Blur had recorded 15 new songs in Hong Kong. He quickly quashed fans' hopes, however, saying that the album hadn't been completed, blaming it on hot weather: "There was too much commuting between where we were staying and where we were recording and it was a bit too hot. I think that's why we didn't get it finished." The band then enlisted producer Stephen Street to finish the album.

Between this, the Alice in Wonderland musical, and the return of Gorillaz, Albarn's got a lot planned for the not-so-distant future.

Update: Albarn revealed more about the record in an interview with Zane Lowe, as the NME points out. Specifically, he said it was kept secret because it wasn't finally finished until yesterday. He also commented on Think Tank, which was recorded without guitarist Graham Coxon, which he said contained "some real stinkers." "There's some bollocks on there," he said.

Youtube video