It's tempting to judge Gorillaz -- Damon Albarn, Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett, and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura's virtual band -- just by their brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of style over substance. Admittedly, Hewlett's 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 it's easy to take the song's equally clever, hip-hop-tinged update of the Specials' "Ghost Town" for granted. And initially, Gorillaz' self-titled debut feels incomplete when Hewlett's imagery is removed; the concept of Gorillaz as a virtual band doesn't hold up as well when you can't see the virtual bandmembers. It's too bad that there isn't 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 Albarn's eclectic Brit-pop and Nakamura's equally wide-ranging hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the band looks. Albarn has fun sending up Blur's 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 Albarn's main gig and his contributions here, Gorillaz isn't an Albarn solo album in disguise; Nakamura's 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 Ferrer's 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 band's debut a genuinely enjoyable album.
Gorillaz
Gorillaz
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Gorillaz Review
by Heather Phares
Track Listing
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gorillaz | 03:38 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
2 | Gorillaz | 02:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
3 | Gorillaz | 03:13 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
4 | Gorillaz | 03:58 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
5 | Gorillaz | 05:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
6 | Gorillaz | 04:33 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
7 | Gorillaz | 01:36 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
8 | Gorillaz | 04:41 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
9 | Gorillaz | 04:45 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
10 | Gorillaz | 04:09 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
11 | Gorillaz | 03:28 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
12 | Gorillaz | 03:37 | ||||
13 | Gorillaz | 03:31 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
14 | Gorillaz | 03:36 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
15 | Gorillaz | 10:42 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
16 | Gorillaz | 04:42 | ||||
17 | Gorillaz | 10:01 |