Don’t call it a comeback. Why? Because that shit is reductive — it forces you to engage with The Magic Whip on compromised terms; it suggests lower stakes. The Magic Whip doesn’t need any simplified context to make it a great record. It is a great record, period. It’s a joyous, melancholy, vibrant, urgent thing. It’s as fastidiously detailed as Parklife, as raw and intimate as 13, as exploratory and expansive Think Tank … but it doesn’t ask you to get those references to get it. The Magic Whip feels like a gift, maybe even a miracle, and it’s not just worthy of Blur’s estimable legacy, it’s very much a part of that legacy. Hell, it elevates that legacy. It’s not a comeback at all; it’s another classic. –Michael

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