In an intimate venue in London, Blur premiered and performed all the songs off of their first album in 12 years, titled The Magic Whip.
The newly reunited band announced via a short video a "secret" small concert in at Mode in West London. To a small crowd of about 300 people, the band played The Magic Whip from beginning to end.
"They did some editing and some production work and sent around the initial tracks and we all realised we'd done something quite special there," Drummer Dave Rowntree told The Guardian, "There was 18 months [in between recording the songs] which allowed us to have a bit of perspective on it. When they played it back, that was the time everyone got very excited."
The band debuted "There Are Too Many Of Us" online, and they released "Go Out" earlier last month, but otherwise Blur has been pretty low-key about their comeback album. But it was heavily influenced by trips to Hong Kong and North Korea, which is clear in their album art and the song "Pyongyang."
"There's nothing pastoral about it — it's very urban," said Albarn. "It wasn't a flash studio, it was pretty claustrophobic and hot. We went in and knocked about loads of ideas."
Back in the '90s, Oasis and Blur, two British bands clashed for the spot of top pop band. Oasis won, but Blur might win the battle of the 2010s. Blur's new album comes out on April 28 and the band has plans to perform in Hyde Park for the British Summertime Festival on June 20.
Here is the setlist, originally posted by Rolling Stone:
01. "Lonesome Street"
02. "New World Towers"
03. "Go Out"
04. "Ice Cream Man"
05. "Thought I Was a Spaceman"
06. "I Broadcast"
07. "My Terracotta Heart"
08. "There Are Too Many of Us"
09. "Ghost Ship"
10. "Pyongyang"
11. "Ong Ong"
12. "Mirrorball"
13. "Trouble in the Message Centre"
