Gorillaz is the brainchild of Blur front-man Damon Albarn and Tank Girl artist Jaime Hewlett. They’ve won awards, Been a relevant and influential act in mainstream music for over two decades, and I personally think despite all of that they are still underrated and not given the credit they deserve. I have been a fan of this project (very important to understand the difference here, this isn’t a band in the traditional sense) ever since Damon put out the first album. If you look at the artists of the 90s/early 2000’s, Including the ones that made a bigger cultural impact, Very few of them have had the sort of staying power that Damon has achieved with Gorillaz.
When most people think of what he and Jamie have done here they think of catchy songs, Great visuals, and great characters with an interesting mythology. That mythology often outshines its creators even though it’s a vital part of what makes Gorillaz a captivating experience for fans.
But the characters of 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, And Noodle are only one aspect of this project, Because without great songs I don’t think this would’ve lasted this long.
Why I say that what Damon has done with Gorillaz is underrated is that what is often dismissed as just great pop songs is WAY more complex than that, Gorillaz and their catalog should be examined through a progressive lens. It’s interesting that Gorillaz have a recognizable sound when it’s hard to define exactly what that is, This is a musical project that brings together a diverse array of musical influences that only become more so with each release. Throughout their career they’ve incorporated trip hop, alternative rock, soul, world music, hip hop, reggae, post punk, pop of varying eras, and folk music just to name a few. Damon has brought in a massive diverse list of guest collaborators on prior records that include: Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Robert Smith, Bobby Womack, Beck, Mavis Staples, Andre 3000, Peter Hook, and Noel Gallagher. That’s a pretty wide range of talent spanning various eras. A guest list like that being incorporated with many others both old and new really illustrate that Gorillaz isn’t just a paycheck for Damon, It’s a love letter to music he loves.
I respect that sort of genuine artistry. That passion, diversity, and progressive musical evolution continue on Cracker Island.
The album starts out with the title track featuring guest collaborator Thundercat, buzzing synths play against a grooving funky bass line. Part of the joy of the Gorillaz experience is that each album comes with a story attached to it, The story of this era of Gorillaz is that they moved to Hollywood and started their own cult called the last cult, their neighbors are another cult called the forever cult which factors into the storyline. If you want the whole story I recommend checking it out between their Facebook profile and videos on YouTube. But when you hear Thundercat repeatedly singing “forever cult” just know that plays into it, it’s a great track to lead into the album.
I grew up on the music of Fleetwood Mac and the idea of the legendary Stevie Nicks singing on a Gorillaz track had me really excited to hear the second song on the album “Oil” and musically it sounds very rooted in 80s pop. I’m going to be honest here, I think it was a mistake for Damon to be singing along with Stevie on this, it’s not that they sound bad together, it definitely works. But when you get an icon like that you really should give them space to make their mark. Stevie is mostly relegated to background vocals here and it’s to the disservice of the song, so ultimately it’s a good track that could’ve been great.
Shimmering keys and a basic and yet effective beat dominate “The tired influencer” and Damon’s vocals sound as great as ever on this track and the album as a whole, i would even say he sings with an emotional delivery that is better now than what he showed in the early days. A great example of that is possibly the album’s best track “silent running” a catchy as hell song that is very melancholy and yet fairly upbeat sounding. This song owes a great debt to 80s synth wave, you could almost interpret this song as being somewhat mournful about the effects of social media, something that particularly resonates with those of us who grew up in a world that existed without it. This song is truly spectacular and no matter how many times I’ve heard it now (TONS) it never ceases to be an enthralling listen. In contrast to my above critique of “Oil” I think the backing vocals here by Adeleye Omotayo are such a perfect backdrop to Damon’s vocals and add some extra emotional punch to this song.
“New Gold” features guest contributions from Tame Impala and Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, Which starts out with a great synth melody and a thumping, Grooving bass line. The soft vocal line in the chorus is spectacular. This is definitely one of the best songs on the album and one for the dance floor.
“Baby Queen” is actually based around an experience Damon had early in his career while on tour with Blur. He was playing a show in Thailand and the Princess of that country attended the concert, she was sitting on her throne to the side of the stage and when the band played their hit “Song #2” she stage dived off her throne into the crowd. This song imagines that he meets her again when she was grown up. I think this track would’ve fit in well on Plastic Beach.
“Tarantula” picks up the pace with a fun song that will get you moving even though it lacks a real vocal hook.
“Tormenta” is too modern pop for my taste and the vocals by Bad Bunny sound like pretty much every modern male pop star I’ve heard, nothing really unique there in my opinion.
“Skinny Ape” is a spectacular ear worm of a track. Acoustic guitars and gorgeous vocal harmonies kick off the song before the beat and keys kick in, this is my second favorite song on the album. This is at once forward thinking and yet very much classic Gorillaz however you want to define that.
“Possession island” is the second collaboration between Gorillaz and Beck, the first being “The valley of the pagans” on their prior album Song machine season one. Where that song showed a lot of inspiration from Beck’s early work, this song is more laid back. There’s almost a 60’s ballad vibe to this song, very lush, Soft, and beautiful. Acoustic guitars, piano, and keys blend gorgeously. Damon and Beck’s vocals are almost indistinguishable from each other and are truly a thing of beauty to experience. Honestly, I would love a whole album of these two working together.
I think this is easily Gorillaz best album in terms of musical consistency, it’s from start to finish a great listen with great songs. While I had my critique of a couple songs it’s still an engaging listen all the way through, i won’t say it’s as musically diverse as most of their other albums and it doesn’t have to be because the vibe on here works and works well. It’s yet another testament to Damon’s ability to progress and evolve without totally abandoning what makes Gorillaz such a great musical entity.
8/10