Gorillaz | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Conceived as the first "virtual hip-hop group," Gorillaz blended the musical talents of Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Blurs Damon Albarn, Cibo Mattos Miho Hatori, and Tom Tom Clubs Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz with the arresting visuals of Jamie Hewlett, best known as the creator of the cult comic Tank Girl. Nakamuras Deltron 3030 cohorts Kid Koala and Del the Funky Homosapien rounded out the creative team behind the Gorillaz quartet, whose virtual members included 2-D, the cute but spacy singer/keyboardist; Murdoc, the spooky, possibly Satanic bassist and the brains behind the group; Russel, a drummer equally inspired by "Farrakhan and Chaka Khan" and possessed by "funkyphantoms" that occasionally rise up and provide some zombie-style rapping; and last but not least, Noodle, a ten-year-old Japanese guitar virtuosa and martial arts master. The groups website showcased Hewletts visuals and the groups music in eye- and ear-catching detail. Gorillaz debuted in late 2000 with the Tomorrow Comes Today EP, which they followed early the next year with the popular Clint Eastwood single. A self-titled full-length debut album arrived in spring 2001. Gorillaz was a massive worldwide success and achieved platinum-level sales in the U.S.; worldwide, it sold over seven million copies. The groups Svengalis were quick to capitalize, and released the B-sides collection G-Sides, the Phase One: Celebrity Takedown DVD, and the dub-inspired remix album Laika Come Home in 2002. The project soon went on hiatus, however, as Albarn resumed work with Blur for their seventh album, 2003s Think Tank. When he was ready to begin the next Gorillaz album, Albarn turned to Danger Mouse (the DJ behind The Grey Album, the infamous mash-up of the Beatles White Album and Jay-Zs Black Album) and a host of other collaborators, including De La Soul, Shaun Ryder, Debbie Harry, Dennis Hopper, and Martina Topley-Bird. Although Del the Funky Homosapien and Nakamura did not return, 2-D, Russel, Murdoc, and Noodle were all present and accounted for on Demon Days, another Top Ten hit, which arrived in spring 2005. The album went double platinum in America and enjoyed even more success in the U.K.; it also received a host of Grammy nominations, a sign that the band had secured critical as well as commercial approval. Gorillaz broke ground for a new album in 2007, but the project wasnt released until 2010, when Plastic Beach marked the bands third studio effort. Greeted to generally positive reviews, Plastic Beach received more attention for its tour, as ex-Clash members Paul Simonon and Mick Jones were both part of Gorillaz. During that tour, Albarn recorded a new Gorillaz album called The Fall on his iPad. Initially digitally released to fan club members on Christmas Day 2010, the album saw a wide official release in the spring of 2011. Unlike previous efforts that featured a vast array of guest artists, The Fall only featured four guest collaborations, three of whom (Bobby Womack, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon) had appeared on Gorillaz tracks before. Aside from the best-of compilation The Singles Collection 2001–2011, which was issued in November 2011, the following five years saw a period of inactivity in the Gorillaz camp, with rumors materializing about an apparent fallout between Albarn and Hewlett. However, these rumors were put to bed in early 2015 when Hewlett posted new illustrations of the virtual members online. Later that year, Albarn confirmed that a new record was indeed in the works. The following year passed and the first track to promote the record, the politically charged "Hallelujah Money" (featuring English musician and poet Benjamin Clementine), dropped in January 2017. The full-length effort, entitled Humanz, arrived in April 2017. Alongside Clementine, it featured appearances from Vince Staples, Popcaan, Danny Brown, Mavis Staples, Grace Jones, Jehnny Beth (Savages), and Albarns onetime rival Noel Gallagher. Months later, Albarn released Humanz B-side "Garage Palace" with rapper Little Simz. To support Humanz, the band embarked on a major world tour, their second ever and first since 2010, during which they also began recording another album. Featuring fewer collaborators than usual, Gorillaz issued their sixth album, The Now Now, in June 2018. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 14 Title: Tomorrow Comes Today EP Released: 2000-11-27 Tracks: 4 Duration: 14:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tomorrow Comes Today (03:13) 2 Rock the House (04:10) 3 Latin Simone (03:38) 4 12D3 (03:24) |
 | Album: 2 of 14 Title: Gorillaz Released: 2001-03-26 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:12:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Re‐Hash (03:40) 2 5/4 (02:41) 3 Tomorrow Comes Today (03:14) 4 New Genious (Brother) (03:58) 5 Clint Eastwood (05:41) 6 Man Research (Clapper) (04:32) 7 Punk (01:36) 8 Sound Check (Gravity) (04:41) 9 Double Bass (04:46) 10 Rock the House (04:10) 11 19‒2000 (03:28) 12 Latin Simone (Qué pasa contigo) (03:38) 13 Starshine (03:32) 14 Slow Country (03:37) 15 M1 A1 (03:50) 16 Dracula (04:42) 17 Left Hand Suzuki Method (03:08) 18 19‐2000 (Soulchild remix) (03:29) 19 Clint Eastwood (Ed Case refix) (04:28) |
| Gorillaz : Allmusic album Review : Its tempting to judge Gorillaz -- Damon Albarn, Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett, and Dan "The Automator" Nakamuras virtual band -- just by their brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of style over substance. Admittedly, Hewletts edgy-cute characterizations of 2-D, Gorillaz pretty boy singer (who looks a cross between the Charlatans Tim Burgess and Sonic the Hedgehog), sinister bassist Murdoc, whiz-kid guitarist Noodle, and b-boy drummer Russel are so arresting that they almost detract from Gorillaz music. The amazing "Thriller"-meets-Planet of the Apes clip for "Clint Eastwood" is so visually clever that its easy to take the songs equally clever, hip-hop-tinged update of the Specials "Ghost Town" for granted. And initially, Gorillaz self-titled debut feels incomplete when Hewletts imagery is removed; the concept of Gorillaz as a virtual band doesnt hold up as well when you cant see the virtual bandmembers. Its too bad that there isnt a DVD version of Gorillaz, with videos for every song, à la the DVD version of Super Furry Animals Rings Around the World. Musically, however, Gorillaz is a cutely caricatured blend of Albarns eclectic Brit-pop and Nakamuras equally wide-ranging hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the band looks. Albarn has fun sending up Blurs cheeky pop on songs like "5/4" and "Re-Hash," their trip-hop experiments on "New Genious" and "Sound Check," and "Song 2"-like thrash-pop on "Punk" and "M1 A1." Despite the similarities between Albarns main gig and his contributions here, Gorillaz isnt an Albarn solo album in disguise; Nakamuras bass- and beat-oriented production gives the album an authentically dub and hip-hop-inspired feel, particularly on "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today." Likewise, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Miho Hatori, and Ibrahim Ferrers vocals ensure that it sounds like a diverse collaboration rather than an insular side project. Instead, it feels like a musical vacation for all parties involved -- a little self-indulgent, but filled with enough fun ideas and good songs to make this virtual bands debut a genuinely enjoyable album. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 14 Title: G Sides Released: 2001-12-12 Tracks: 12 Duration: 48:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 19‐2000 (Soulchild remix) (03:29) 2 Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo) (03:41) 3 19‒2000 (The Wiseguys House of Wisdom remix) (07:15) 4 The Sounder (edit) (04:33) 5 Faust (03:55) 6 Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher version) (04:54) 7 Ghost Train (03:56) 8 Hip Albatross (02:45) 9 12D3 (03:24) 10 Dracula (04:45) 11 Rock the House (radio edit) (03:03) 12 Left Hand Suzuki Method (03:12) |
| G Sides : Allmusic album Review : Though it seems a bit soon for a virtual group with only one album to its name to be releasing a B-sides collection, Gorillazs G-Sides more or less justifies its existence by gathering some of the best extra tracks from the bands singles, most of which are only available as imports. As with Gorillaz, which surrounded catchy songs like "Clint Eastwood" and "19/2000" with quirkier, more experimental tracks, the band uses its B-sides as a chance to stretch out even further musically, either with remixes or with unconventional musical sketches. G-Sides features some of each, ranging from the even bouncier, more upbeat remix of "19/2000" by Soulchild to the rather eerie "Hip Albatross," which mixes samples of moaning zombies from Dawn of the Dead with trip-hoppy beats and moody guitars. Rapper Phi Life Cyber reinforces Gorillazs hip-hop roots by joining them on two tracks, a reworking of "Clint Eastwood" and "The Sounder." The appealingly simple "12D3," with its strummy guitar and playful Damon Albarn vocals, recalls some of Blurs later work, and the funky, quirky "Ghost Train" and the English version of "Latin Simone" also are as enjoyable as anything that appeared on Gorillaz. Aside from the Wiseguys rather limp reworking of "19/2000," the only problem with G-Sides is its brevity; the U.S. version only includes ten of their B-sides, none of which are from their biggest single, "Clint Eastwood." And while most of the import singles featured CD-ROM tracks of the groups amazing animated videos, none of them appear here. Though the enhanced version of G-Sides and the Japanese D-Sides collection feature more of Gorillazs B-sides, and theyll probably have a video collection sooner rather than later, these kinds of omissions make G-Sides a slightly frustrating collection. Gorillaz completists will no doubt have all of the import singles already, but G-Sides is the logical next step for anyone intrigued by the groups debut. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 14 Title: Laika Come Home Released: 2002-05 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:12:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 19/2000 (Jungle Fresh) (05:28) 2 Slow Country (Strictly Rubbadub) (03:41) 3 Tomorrow Comes Today (Bañana Baby) (05:29) 4 Man Research (Monkey Racket) (05:57) 5 Punk (De‐Punked) (05:20) 6 5/4 (P.45) (04:26) 7 Starshine (Dub Ø9) (05:17) 8 Soundcheck (Gravity) (Crooked dub) (05:31) 9 New Genius (Brother) (Mutant Genius) (05:02) 10 Re‐Hash (Come Again) (06:04) 11 Clint Eastwood (A Fistful of Peanuts) (05:53) 12 M1 A1 (Lil’ Dub Chefin’) (13:53) |
| Laika Come Home : Allmusic album Review : The enormous success of Gorillaz self-titled debut spawned a couple of collections from the animated hip-hop group as a way of satisfying their public until their Svengalis, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and Damon Albarn, could reconvene to deliver new material. G-Sides was a more or less straightforward B-sides collection, while Laika Come Home offered a unique twist on the remix album. Instead of hiring several DJs and artists to remix the groups songs, Albarn and Nakamura had Space Monkeyz, who did a dub version of "Tomorrow Comes Today" as a B-side for that single, rework all of Gorillaz songs as dub excursions. While the actual identities of the Space Monkeyz are questionable, gorillaz.com says they are "mutant offspring of the monkey cosmonauts sent into space during the Cold War" -- their remixing skills and dedication to authentic-sounding dub are undeniable. An appropriately laid-back, playful feel permeates Laika Come Home; the albums best moments, such as "19/2000 (Jungle Fresh)," "New Genius (Brother) (Mutant Genius)," and "M1A1 (Lil Dub Chefin)" explore the dub influences at the root of Gorillaz sound and offer a fun, fresh take on the songs. In all, while its not as exciting -- or, arguably, necessary -- as a new Gorillaz album, Laika Come Home is still a more satisfying work than the usual boring and/or unpredictable remix album. Fans awaiting the Gorillaz next move will be sufficiently entertained by this summery, spacy collection. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 14 Title: Demon Days Released: 2005-05-11 Tracks: 15 Duration: 50:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro (01:03) 2 Last Living Souls (03:10) 3 Kids With Guns (03:46) 4 O Green World (04:32) 5 Dirty Harry (03:43) 6 Feel Good Inc. (03:41) 7 El mañana (03:50) 1 Every Planet We Reach Is Dead (04:53) 2 November Has Come (02:41) 3 All Alone (03:30) 4 White Light (02:08) 5 DARE (04:04) 6 Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head (03:16) 7 Don’t Get Lost in Heaven (02:00) 8 Demon Days (04:28) |
| Demon Days : Allmusic album Review : Damon Albarn went to great pains to explain that the first Gorillaz album was a collaboration between him, cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, and producer Dan the Automator, but any sort of pretense to having the virtual pop group seem like a genuine collaborative band was thrown out the window for the groups long-awaited 2005 sequel, Demon Days. Hewlett still provides new animation for Gorillaz -- although the proposed feature-length film has long disappeared -- but Dan the Automator is gone, leaving Albarn as the unquestioned leader of the group. This isnt quite similar to Blur, a genuine band that faltered after Graham Coxon decided he had enough, leaving Damon behind to construct the muddled Think Tank largely on his own. No, Gorillaz were always designed as a collective, featuring many contributors and producers, all shepherded by Albarn, the songwriter, mastermind, and ringleader. Hiding behind Hewletts excellent cartoons gave Albarn the freedom to indulge himself, but it also gave him focus since it tied him to a specific concept. Throughout his career, Albarn always was at his best when writing in character -- to the extent that anytime he wrote confessionals in Blur, they sounded stagy -- and Gorillaz not only gave him an ideal platform, it liberated him, giving him the opportunity to try things he couldnt within the increasingly dour confines of Blur. It wasnt just that the cartoon concept made for light music -- on the first Gorillaz album, Damon sounded as if he were having fun for the first time since Parklife. But 2005 is a much different year than 2001, and if Gorillaz exuded the heady, optimistic, future-forward vibes of the turn of the millennium, Demon Days is as theatrically foreboding as its title, one of the few pop records made since 9/11 that captures the eerie unease of living in the 21st century. Not really a cartoony feel, in other words, but Gorillaz indulged in doom and gloom from their very first single, "Clint Eastwood," so this is not unfamiliar territory, nor is it all that dissimilar from the turgid moodiness of Blurs 2003 Think Tank. But where Albarn seemed simultaneously constrained and adrift on that last Blur album -- attempting to create indie rock, yet unsure how since messiness contradicts his tightly wound artistic impulses -- hes assured and masterful on Demon Days, regaining his flair for grand gestures that served him so well at the height of Britpop, yet tempering his tendency to overreach by keeping the music lean and evocative through his enlistment of electronica maverick Danger Mouse as producer. Demon Days is unified and purposeful in a way Albarns music hasnt been since The Great Escape, possessing a cinematic scope and a narrative flow, as the curtain unveils to the ominous, morose "Last Living Souls" and then twists and winds through valleys, detours, and wrong paths -- some light, some teeming with dread -- before ending up at the haltingly hopeful title track. Along the way, cameos float in and out of the slipstream and Albarn relies on several familiar tricks: the Specials are a touchstone, brooding minor key melodies haunt the album, there are some singalong refrains, while a celebrity recites a lyric (this time, its Dennis Hopper). Instead of sounding like musical crutches, this sounds like an artist who knows his strengths and uses them as an anchor so he can go off and explore new worlds. Chief among the strengths that Albarn relies upon is his ability to find collaborators who can articulate his ideas clearly and vividly. Danger Mouse, whose Grey Album mash-up of the Beatles and Jay-Z was an underground sensation in 2004, gives this music an elasticity and creeping darkness than infects even such purportedly lighthearted moments as "Feel Good Inc." Its a sense of menace thats reminiscent of prime Happy Mondays, so it shouldnt be a surprise that one of the highlights of Demon Days is Shaun Ryders cameo on the tight, deceptively catchy "Dare." Over a tightly wound four minutes, "Dare" exploits Ryders iconic Mancunian thug persona within territory that belongs to the Gorillaz -- its percolating beat not too far removed from "19/2000" -- and thats what makes it a perfect distillation of Demon Days: by letting other musicians take center stage and by sharing credit with Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn has created an allegedly anonymous platform whose genius ultimately and quite clearly belongs to him alone. All the themes and ideas on this album have antecedents in his previous work, but surrounded by new collaborators, hes able to present them in a fresh, exciting way. And he has created a monster album here -- not just in its size, but in its Frankenstein construction. It not only eclipses the first Gorillaz album, which in itself was a terrific record, but stands alongside the best Blur albums, providing a tonal touchstone for this decade the way Parklife did for the 90s. While it wont launch a phenomenon the way that 1994 classic did -- Albarn is too much a veteran artist for that and the music is too dark and weird -- Demon Days is still one hell of a comeback for Damon Albarn, who seemed perilously close to forever disappearing into his own ego. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 14 Title: D‐Sides Released: 2007-11-19 Tracks: 22 Duration: 1:57:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 68 State (04:48) 2 People (03:27) 3 Hongkongaton (03:33) 4 We Are Happy Landfill (03:39) 5 Hong Kong (07:14) 6 Highway (Under Construction) (04:20) 7 Rockit (03:33) 8 Bill Murray (03:52) 9 The Swagga (04:57) 10 Murdoc Is God (02:26) 11 Spitting Out the Demons (05:10) 12 Don’t Get Lost in Heaven (original demo version) (02:29) 13 Stop the Dams (05:38) 1 Dare (DFA remix) (12:14) 2 Feel Good Inc. (Stanton Warriors remix) (07:24) 3 Kids With Guns (Jamie T’s Turns to Monsters mix) (04:22) 4 Dare (Soulwax remix) (05:42) 5 Kids With Guns (Hot Chip remix) (07:09) 6 El mañana (Metronomy remix) (05:44) 7 Dare (Junior Sanchez remix) (05:26) 8 Dirty Harry (Schtung Chinese New Year remix) (03:53) 9 Kids With Guns (Quiet Village remix) (10:08) |
| D‐Sides : Allmusic album Review : The Gorillaz B-sides and remixes collection D-Sides just emphasizes that Demon Days could have just as easily been called Damon Days. Even though Damon Albarn worked with collaborators like Danger Mouse on the second Gorillaz album, Albarn was its main sonic architect, and this is made even clearer by the songs that didnt make it onto Demon Days. Where the album honed a paranoid, melancholy -- but always accessible -- vibe, D-Sides is charmingly loose and eclectic; the stoned, rag-tag shuffle of "Dont Get Lost in Heaven (Demo)" is far more engaging, or at least immediate, than the choir and strings-bedecked version that appeared on Demon Days. The layered, doo wop-inspired harmonies and pianos on "Highway (Under Construction)" bear the marks of fiddling around in the studio, but appealingly so -- and that goes double for the new wave/electro ramble "Rockit," on which Albarn makes "blah blah blah" sound almost profound. D-Sides finds him working in styles he couldnt fit on the album (although "Spitting Out the Demons" dubby gloom comes the closest to Demon Days final cut): "68 State"s moody synth noodling could soundtrack an anime dystopia; "Hongkongaton" fuses dub and music hall; and "People" could be the mutant offspring of Britpop and synth pop. While many of D-Sides tracks are sketches, the full-fledged songs are just as good as what ultimately appeared on Demon Days. "The Swagga," er, swaggers from retro-futuristic pop to messy, freewheeling rock, fulfilling the promise of rowdy snippets like "Murdoc Is God." Albarn also finds room for some surprisingly vulnerable moments; "Hong Kong," with its strings and shamisen, feels like a distant cousin of The Great Escapes "Yuko and Hiro," and "Stop the Dams" closes D-Sides first disc on a quiet, heartfelt note. For longtime Albarn fans, this part of the collection is a lot of fun -- a trip through his scraps and oddities is still more rewarding than many other artists magnum opuses. D-Sides remix disc is, somewhat surprisingly, more focused than the actual Gorillaz B-sides are. Its no surprise that Albarn has gathered an on-point cast of remixers, including Metronomy, Hot Chip, and the DFA, who begin the disc with its best track, a belligerent, percussive version of "Dare" that strips the song down to little more than Shaun Ryders voice, percussion, and the odd buzzing synth. "Dare" inspired two of the discs other standouts, a remix by Junior Sanchez and one by Soulwax. While not all of the remixes hit these heights, overall its a fun set, and a good complement to the eclecticism of D-Sides first disc. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 14 Title: Plastic Beach Released: 2010-03-03 Tracks: 16 Duration: 56:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Orchestral Intro (01:09) 2 Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (03:35) 3 White Flag (03:43) 4 Rhinestone Eyes (03:20) 5 Stylo (04:30) 6 Superfast Jellyfish (02:54) 7 Empire Ants (04:43) 8 Glitter Freeze (04:03) 9 Some Kind of Nature (02:59) 10 On Melancholy Hill (03:53) 11 Broken (03:17) 12 Sweepstakes (05:20) 13 Plastic Beach (03:47) 14 To Binge (03:55) 15 Cloud of Unknowing (03:06) 16 Pirate Jet (02:32) |
| Plastic Beach : Allmusic album Review : Gorillaz began as a lark but turned serious once it became Damon Albarn’s primary creative outlet following the slow dissolve of Blur. Delivered five years after the delicate whimsical melancholy of 2005’s Demon Days, Plastic Beach is an explicit sequel to its predecessor, its story line roughly picking up in the dystopian future where the last album left off, its music offering a grand, big-budget expansion of Demon Days, spinning off its cameo-crammed blueprint. Traces of Albarn’s Monkey opera can be heard, particularly in the hypnotic Mideastern pulse of “White Flag,” but Damon’s painstaking pancultural pop junk-mining no longer surprises -- when hip-hop juts up against Brit-pop, it’s expected -- yet it still has the capacity to delight no matter which direction the Gorillaz may swing. Lou Reed’s crotchety croak on “Some Kind of Nature” has the same kind of gravitational pull as Mos Def leading the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble through the intensely circling “Sweepstakes,” while the group reaches new heights of sparkling pop on “Superfast Jellyfish,” aided by the return of De La Soul -- the rappers who propelled “Feel Good Inc.” -- and an appearance from Gruff Rhys, the Super Furry Animals frontman who is an ideal fit for Gorillaz (possibly because SFA’s genre-bending pop and Pete Fowler artwork clearly paved the way for Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s collaboration). A common thread among all these tracks is that they find Albarn ceding the spotlight to his fellow musicians, preferring to be the puppetmaster behind the curtain, and Plastic Beach works best when he’s the composer and producer, finding hidden strengths within his guests -- having Mick Jones and Paul Simonon for the elastic title track, coaxing some powerful performances out of Bobby Womack -- but often when Albarn takes center stage his laconic drawl lets the air out of the balloon. Curiously, much of this arrives toward the beginning of the album, the record gaining momentum as it unspools, working toward its climax, but the overall album accentuates moody texture over pop hooks. This emphasis means Plastic Beach is the first Gorillaz album to play like a soundtrack to a cartoon -- which isn’t entirely a bad thing, because as Albarn grows as a composer, he’s a master of subtly shifting moods and intricately threaded allusions, often creating richly detailed collages that are miniature marvels. Ironically, these individual pieces don’t add up to an overall masterpiece, possibly because the narrative is convoluted and strained, getting in the way of the pure musical flow, but also because it’s hard not to shake the feeling that this is a transitional effort, pointing toward a day when Damon Albarn will feel no need to front a band, not even in a cartoon guise. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 14 Title: iTunes Session Released: 2010-10-22 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:09:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Clint Eastwood (04:32) 2 Dirty Harry (03:47) 3 Feel Good Inc. (03:37) 4 Kids With Guns (03:46) 5 Stylo (04:32) 6 Glitter Freeze (04:04) 7 On Melancholy Hill (03:47) 8 Rhinestone Eyes (03:22) 9 iTunes Interview (37:37) |
 | Album: 9 of 14 Title: The Fall Released: 2010-12-25 Tracks: 15 Duration: 43:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Phoner to Arizona (04:20) 2 Revolving Doors (03:26) 3 Hillbilly Man (03:50) 4 Detroit (02:03) 5 Shy‐town (02:55) 6 Little Pink Plastic Bags (03:10) 7 The Joplin Spider (03:22) 8 The Parish of Space Dust (02:26) 9 The Snake in Dallas (02:11) 10 Amarillo (03:25) 11 The Speak It Mountains (02:15) 12 Aspen Forest (02:50) 13 Bobby in Phoenix (03:17) 14 California & the Slipping of the Sun (03:24) 15 Seattle Yodel (00:39) |
| The Fall : Allmusic album Review : The hook to The Fall is that it’s the first high-profile album to be recorded entirely on Apple’s iPad, Damon Albarn assembling these 15 song sketches as the Gorillaz tour rolled across America in the fall of 2010. In that sense, The Fall is not dissimilar from his limited-edition 2003 solo excursion Democrazy, which was also recorded in hotel rooms while on tour, yet The Fall has a higher profile -- it’s not a vinyl-only fan club release, it can be freely streamed from the Gorillaz official site and can be downloaded as part of a subscription package -- and thanks to the high-quality iPad apps it sounds polished, if not quite finished. Spectral hooks float in and out of the haze, sometimes the drum loops add definition, but for the most part The Fall is a rolling, moody aural travelogue, its song titles referencing specific cities (“Phoner to Arizona,” “Detroit,” “The Snake in Dallas,” “Aspen Forest,” “Seattle Yodel”), yet the music feels attached to no specific place -- it feels like a reflection of its time, namely, the autumn Gorillaz spent touring the U.S. It’s an aural journal, a sonic sketchbook that carries much of the same palette as Plastic Beach, yet it’s muted to the point that all the colors smear, the music taking on the same washed-out impressionistic qualities of The Good, the Bad & the Queen. Appealing as this may be, The Fall winds up a little ephemeral, its pleasures as fleeting as the scenery passing outside the windows of a tour bus. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 14 Title: The Singles Collection 2001–2011 Released: 2011-11-28 Tracks: 15 Duration: 56:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Tomorrow Comes Today (03:13) 2 Clint Eastwood (05:42) 3 19‒2000 (03:28) 4 Rock the House (04:10) 5 Feel Good Inc (03:43) 6 DARE (03:33) 7 Dirty Harry (03:51) 8 Kids With Guns (03:46) 9 El Mañana (03:51) 10 Stylo (03:56) 11 Superfast Jellyfish (02:59) 12 On Melancholy Hill (03:28) 13 Doncamatic (03:20) 14 Clint Eastwood (Ed Case & Sweetie Irie refix) (03:41) 15 19‐2000 (Soulchild remix) (03:29) |
| The Singles Collection 2001–2011 : Allmusic album Review : It is no great surprise that a group designed as a concept would eventually specialize in concept albums, so when Gorillaz abandoned the giddiness that fueled their 2001 debut in favor of dense dystopian dance-rock operas, it seemed logical and the transition was eased by Albarn’s cunning knack for sharp crossover singles. Released in 2011, The Singles Collection 2001-2011 rounds up 15 of those singles -- including remixes of early hits “Clint Eastwood” and “19/2000” and “Doncamatic,” which was added to later pressings of 2010’s Plastic Beach, but nothing from their iPad-recorded 2010 detour The Fall -- and they make for an impressively consistent body of work, with Gorillaz finding many variations within their blend of Brit-pop, hip-hop, dance, and rock. In this context, it is clear that the three singles pulled from Plastic Beach -- “Stylo,” “Superfast Jellyfish,” “On Melancholy Hill” -- didn’t reach the same heights as those from Gorillaz and Demon Days because they were cobbled by a certain dourness -- a quality lacking from the singles from the similarly pessimistic Demon Days and from “Doncamatic” -- yet they don’t offer a sour coda on this Singles Collection; instead, they indicate the complexity of this cartoon pop group, which means this compilation isn’t merely a good collection of hits, it’s a fine introduction to the multifaceted pleasures of Gorillaz. [The Deluxe Edition contains a bonus DVD with the group’s videos (essential to the understanding of the group), a documentary called Charts of Darkness, two BRIT Award performances, and three trailers.] | ||
 | Album: 11 of 14 Title: Greatest Hits Released: 2015-10-24 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:17:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Clint Eastwood (Ed Case Refix) (03:44) 2 Dracula (04:42) 3 Five Four (02:40) 4 Nineteentwothousand (Soulchild remix) (03:30) 5 Tomorrow Comes Today (03:13) 6 Left Hand Suzuki Method (03:09) 7 Rock the House (04:10) 8 Clint Eastwood (radio edit) (05:55) 9 Re‐Hash (03:40) 10 Latin Simone (03:39) 11 Slow Country (03:39) 12 Punk (01:38) 13 New Genious (04:01) 14 Sound Check (04:43) 15 Nineteentwothousand (original mix) (03:31) 16 Miai (08:23) 17 Starshine (03:35) 18 Double Bass (04:46) 19 Man Research (04:30) |
 | Album: 12 of 14 Title: 私 Noodle❗️ Released: 2017-01-02 Tracks: 1 Duration: 28:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 私 Noodle❗️ (28:47) |
 | Album: 13 of 14 Title: Humanz Released: 2017-04-28 Tracks: 20 Duration: 49:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro: I Switched My Robot Off (00:24) 2 Ascension (02:35) 3 Strobelite (04:33) 4 Saturnz Barz (03:01) 5 Momentz (03:17) 6 Interlude: The Non‐Conformist Oath (00:22) 7 Submission (03:22) 8 Charger (03:34) 9 Interlude: Elevator Going Up (00:05) 10 Andromeda (03:17) 11 Busted and Blue (04:37) 1 Interlude: Talk Radio (00:20) 2 Carnival (02:16) 3 Let Me Out (02:56) 4 Interlude: Penthouse (00:12) 5 Sex Murder Party (04:19) 6 She’s My Collar (03:30) 7 Interlude: The Elephant (00:12) 8 Hallelujah Money (04:23) 9 We Got the Power (02:20) |
| Humanz : Allmusic album Review : On 2017s Humanz, Damon Albarn returns to Gorillaz after a seven-year hiatus -- a period when he busied himself with two operas, a solo album, and a Blur reunion -- and reconnects with the collaborative instincts that drove the bands first two albums. Plastic Beach -- the 2010 album that served as the groups last major opus (The Fall, released just months later, was that LPs bittersweet coda) -- found Albarn stepping toward the center stage but on Humanz he recedes, giving his collaborators the spotlight and softening whatever complicated narrative he and illustrator Jamie Hewlett devised for their cartoon groups fourth phase. Maybe this is why Humanz feels wild and unruly in a way Plastic Beach never did: the emphasis is on the individual cuts, not the grand concept. Some themes are woven throughout the record -- theres a political undercurrent, although the upheavals of Trump and Brexit are never addressed directly; theres a heavy reliance on R&B and hip-hop -- but the album seems pleasingly scattershot as it bounces from guest to guest. Its messiness suits the digital era, when its possible to swipe from style to style without a second thought, but Humanz isnt haphazard. Albarn deliberately sculpts each cut, giving plenty of space for Vince Staples, Grace Jones, Danny Brown, Anthony Hamilton, Mavis Staples, Pusha T, and longtime Gorillaz mainstay De La Soul to roam. That list of guest artists underscores how Humanz feels connected to soul in a way Plastic Beach didnt, but with its careening, carnivalesque hooks and skeletal 2-Tone spook -- not to mention how the whole thing is anchored on "Busted and Blue," a Damon solo track that couldve slid onto Everyday Robots -- its clearly an Albarn project. But even with its heavy, heavy R&B vibe and roiling politics, Humanz feels strangely uplifting, as if every musician who entered the studio found solace in the act of creation. Thats why "We Got the Power" -- a collaboration with Savages singer Jehnny Beth and Damons onetime rival Noel Gallagher -- is such a fitting closer: in dark times, it finds hope and inspiration in the power of the collective, which is a testament to what Albarn intends to do with Gorillaz. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 14 Title: The Now Now Released: 2018-06-29 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Humility (03:17) 2 Tranz (02:43) 3 Hollywood (04:53) 4 Kansas (04:08) 5 Sorcererz (03:00) 6 Idaho (03:42) 7 Lake Zurich (04:13) 8 Magic City (04:00) 9 Fire Flies (03:53) 10 One Percent (02:21) 11 Souk Eye (04:35) |
| The Now Now : Allmusic album Review : Its not an unusual move for Gorillaz, releasing a brief, breezy record swiftly on the heels of a magnum opus. The Fall followed Plastic Beach by a matter of 13 months, but that 2011 record was deliberately positioned as an afterthought, promoted as being written and recorded on the road and initially released to the cartoon bands fan club. The Now Now, delivered a mere 14 months after Humanz, echoes The Fall, particularly in how nearly half of its songs carry titles that salute the presumed place of their composition, but this is quite a different beast than any previous Gorillaz album. Recorded in February 2018 so the group could have new material to play on the festival circuit that year, The Now Now by design has fewer collaborators than Humanz, the record Damon Albarn toiled over for the better part of a decade. Shortened sessions mean that only a handful of guests are on this album -- Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle pop up on "Hollywood," George Benson graces "Humility" with his breezy guitar -- which, in turn, pushes the spotlight directly upon Albarn himself. More than ever, Gorillaz seems like a solo Albarn project wearing a cartoon mask. Apart from several welcome hits of early-80s new wave and yacht soul, much of The Now Now circles the same moody drain that characterized Everyday Robots, which is the only pop album hes released under his own name. A melancholy strain runs through Albarns 21st century work and its the glue that binds The Now Now, turning the record into the perhaps inevitable hangover to Humanz. Where that overstuffed record played like a moment of defiance in a dark time, The Now Now finds Albarn turning inward, finding solace in old sounds -- particularly disco and old school hip-hop -- while musing about the darker winds that blow outside of his door. Perhaps this doesnt make for a listen thats as wild or adventurous as its companion, but its ultimately more satisfying, as the internal journey mirrors the evolution of the pop landscape in the 21st century. What was once a rowdy, colorful party is now a soundtrack for bittersweet solitude. | ||