Damon Albarn had a pretty quiet 2024, but spent the year before releasing new music with Gorillaz (who were on the cover of Exclaim! for Cracker Island) and Blur (who we spoke to for The Ballad of Darren). This silence seems to have been short-lived, as both he and Jamie Hewlett have confirmed a new Gorillaz album is coming sometime this year.
While talking with French publication Les Inrockuptibles, Albarn confirmed the news, saying, "I'm finishing a new Gorillaz album. One opera and one new Gorillaz album seems like enough for 2025! Unless someone accuses me of taking my foot off the gas!"
The electronic opera in question is a French sequel to Mozart's The Magic Flute called Magic Flute II, La Malédiction, which Albarn also happens to be working on.
Hewlett may have confirmed Albarn's claims, as he wrote in an Instagram comment recently, "Yes, the new album is coming out this year." An Instagram post from @everythinggorillaz also claims that Albarn said the album should be finished in six weeks.
Albarn declared the Blur reunion to be over in late 2023 — despite bassist Alex James being very nice about it — so it makes sense that he's got time for two big projects.