Update: Mystery solved. According to NME, the band will be airing live renditions of two new songs, ‘Under The Westway’ and the aforementioned ‘The Puritan’. The tracks will be streamed from a secret location in the UK, and will be made available to download the same evening.

The first track will be broadcast over at the band’s Twitter account at 6.15pm on July 2. An interview will follow, and the second track will subsequently air at 7.15pm. A limited edition double A-Side 7″ single will also arrive  on August. In Albarn’s words: “I wrote these songs for Hyde Park and I’m really excited about getting out there and playing them for people.”

Damon Albarn, never the most transparent of operators, continues to obfuscate and infuriate.

After the recent suggestions from William Orbit that Albarn had abruptly put the kibosh on the recent Blur recording sessions, it now appears that a new Blur single might be on the way in the near future.

Prefix report that a Tweet from Blur’s official Twitter reading “Be here Monday 2nd July. 7:15pm BST RT” was thrown out around midday today. The hashtag ‘#ThePuritan’ has also been appearing with regularity on the feed  – a possible allusion to a song recently given a live airing by Albarn at his recent solo gigs.

A curious image was also posted up via Instagram, which may or may not contain a lyric from the song. Our guess, in line with other commentators, is that some sort of single release is imminent; then again, knowing Albarn, don’t be disappointed if it turns out to be a Thomas Middleton-inspired libretto.

A clip of ‘The Puritan’ is available to enjoy below.