Every man should have a hobby; what's remarkable is that Damon Albarn's recent projects outside of Blur - Gorillaz, his experiments with North African music - have all illustrated the different ways in which this musician can write a good tune. Now the star turn in a BBC season of Electric Proms, his new band of varied personalities (Clash man Paul Simonon, Tony Allen on Afrobeat drums, Verve guitarist Simon Tong) addresses some of his influences. As suggested by the single Herculean, the fusion works but, as ever it's the tunes that win out.

Blissed out baggyista; 'Parklife'-preachin' lager lout; post-rock miserablist; Simian svengali - is there any role Damon Albarn can't turn his hand to? This time around the rai players of Algeria and the Master musicians of Jajouka get a breather from taking orders from the Stella-swigging Brian Wilson of Britpop. Instead we get a supergroup which could only exist within a two mile radius of The Cobden club, W10. Paul 'The Clash' Simonon is on bass. Tony 'Fela Kuti' Allen is on drums. Danger Mouse is twiddling the knobs. And, er, Simon Tong from The Verve is on guitar. In the midst of it, there's Damon: pining for a mythic London while a ghostly, glittering dub-soundscape throbs away beneath him. Streets ahead, literally.

Just where on Earth does Damon Albarn find the time? Not content with preparing for Blur's next album (still a going concern apparently), and plotting Gorillaz' continuing world domination, he's also managed to form a new band. And - whisper it - this one could be described as a bona fide supergroup.

For The Good The Bad & The Queen, Albarn has been joined by Paul Simonon (ex-bass player in The Clash), Simon Tong (former guitarist in The Verve) and Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen. He's even roped in Danger Mouse, one half of Gnarls Barkley of course, to produce. The results are, if this first single is anything to go by, downbeat, atmospheric and frankly outstanding.

Herculean meanders menacingly around like the more obtuse moments of Blur's 13 album while Danger Mouse adds his usual stunningly inventive production over the track. There's no hooks to speak of - in fact it could be the least commercial thing that Albarn's been involved in. Yet it's rather magnificent and more evidence that Albarn's one of the most talented people in music today. Be quick if you want to buy it though - it'll be released and deleted on the same day.

Having proved himself the master of two dimensions with Gorillaz, Damon Albarn's next fantasia in the key of side-project fleshes out his bandmates into actual human beings. And anyone who doubted his capacity to get Afrobeat rhythm king Tony Allen, the Clash's Paul Simonon and the Verve's Simon Tong reading from the same page in his hymn book will find their fears swiftly allayed by this elegant conflation of Lowry-esque melancholy and Morricone-esque whistling. 'Standing on the dark canal, by the gasworks,' intones Albarn, lulling his detractors into a false sense of security with this oddly low-key first single.