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Album Reviews
Album Review: Gorillaz – Plastic Beach (EMI)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 3 March 2010
After almost five years, Gorillaz return with yet another ambitious, eclectic but unique take on pop music. Arguably the first post-modern band, their image, designed by artist Jamie Hewlett, inevitably remains one of their focal points, but Gorillaz have never eschewed substance in their pursuit of style. ‘Plastic Beach’ is yet another great leap forward for Damon Albarn and co. Who would have guessed fifteen years ago that one of the founders of Britpop would become one of pop music’s renaissance men?
The record’s influences are myriad; from electro to grime, from hip hop to classic and Middle Eastern orchestral arrangements. The roster of guest artists is also quite staggering, including home grown artists such as Kano, the Swedish electro band Little Dragon and American music legends such as Lou Reed and Bobby Womack. The themes are more urgent than ever. A sense of ecological and environmental menace looms everywhere and Albarn is always sincere in his concerns, never pious or preachy. Lead single ‘Stylo’ sets the musical tone; it’s fizzing synthesisers complemented by Mos Def’s rhymes, Albarn’s poignant ruminations and Womack’s explosive soul vocals.
‘Plastic Beach’ is an incredibly diverse record throughout; not just changing musical style from one song to another but often within one song. Take ‘White Flag’, for instance, which utilises The Lebanese National Orchestra For Oriental Arabic Music to fine effect before mutating into a slice of UK grime, with Kano and Bashy contributing verses, before reverting back. ‘Superfast Jellyfish’, with its advertising jingle device juxtaposes De La Soul’s input with Gruff Rhys in full Boom Bip mode. ‘Broken’ features some of Albarn’s most affecting vocals for some time in addition to what sounds like a woozy, dubstep-inspired production.
Some of the featured artists don’t make quite the contributions they could have – Mark E Smith and Snoop Dogg, for instance – but this is a minor quibble. Albarn’s creativity shows little sign of abating, taking some of the freshest, daring musical subgenres of recent years and mixing and matching but ‘Plastic Beach’ still sounds, uniquely, like a Gorillaz record. Its ambition and execution is something to marvel at. KW
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