26 March 2010
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
There's no great surprise why the Gorillaz have been so immensely popular; their simple formula of bass-laden funk backed with well composed, catchy beats has served them well. Unlike 2005's inconsistent 'Demon Days', 'Plastic Beach' presents you with a solid LP of powerful, affecting tracks. There's nothing left unaccounted for, there's a lovely ebb and flow as a whole, and more by way of mellow numbers. As the title suggests, the 'save the world' theme persists from 'Demon Days' also.
The guest appearances, of which the album is packed to the brim with, have varying influences on the sound of the album. Snoop Dogg's prominent tones dominate 'Welcome to the World Of The Plastic Beach'. His entertaining, and somewhat soothing, lyrics coalesce beautifully with Damon's vocoders and an encompassing bass line. With this album, Albarn has very much honed his ability create songs spanning several unrelated genres. The minute-long oriental pre-amble in 'White Flag' followed by nursery rhyme harmonica and alternate exchanges between Kano and Bashy are truly outstanding.
Gorillaz have always owed a lot to hip hop, and 'Plastic Beach' is no exception, with feel-good 'Superfast Jelly' and 'Sweepstakes' featuring De La Soul and Mos Def respectively. But despite Mos Def's contribution, Sweepstake appears to be the only weak point in the album, along with 'Glitter Freeze'. Interestingly, there are a handful of tracks featuring collaborations with various artists that didn't make it into the final tracklist - only two out of three Mos Def's are on the new album, for example. No doubt we'll see another CD analogous to 'D Sides' in the near future.
Where 'Plastic Beach' really exceeds its predecessors is in terms of pace and balance. The usual Gorillaz affair is this time peppered with slower, softer numbers. 'Broken' is one good example, which interestingly shows strong Beach House influence. And 'Cloud of Unknowing' and 'Pirate Jet' finish the album off in merry, relaxed spirit. What's interesting to note is how the first half of 'Plastic Beach' is packed with the bulk of the 'hits', as it were. 'Welcome to the world…', 'White Flag', 'Stylo', the first singe, and 'Superfast Jellyfish' are all fronted in the track sequence. Consequently, the second half is a more calm affair.
Five years in the waiting, but 'Plastic Beach' was well worth it. It really does seems like the time-perfected output of an artist at the top of his game. Damon, former Blur-frontman, seems to have successfully embodied the best of past efforts, and stripped out all the previous slightly frustrating aspects, in the process producing one fun-filled, well balanced record.
Listen now on Spotify
Moneeb
The guest appearances, of which the album is packed to the brim with, have varying influences on the sound of the album. Snoop Dogg's prominent tones dominate 'Welcome to the World Of The Plastic Beach'. His entertaining, and somewhat soothing, lyrics coalesce beautifully with Damon's vocoders and an encompassing bass line. With this album, Albarn has very much honed his ability create songs spanning several unrelated genres. The minute-long oriental pre-amble in 'White Flag' followed by nursery rhyme harmonica and alternate exchanges between Kano and Bashy are truly outstanding.
Gorillaz have always owed a lot to hip hop, and 'Plastic Beach' is no exception, with feel-good 'Superfast Jelly' and 'Sweepstakes' featuring De La Soul and Mos Def respectively. But despite Mos Def's contribution, Sweepstake appears to be the only weak point in the album, along with 'Glitter Freeze'. Interestingly, there are a handful of tracks featuring collaborations with various artists that didn't make it into the final tracklist - only two out of three Mos Def's are on the new album, for example. No doubt we'll see another CD analogous to 'D Sides' in the near future.
Where 'Plastic Beach' really exceeds its predecessors is in terms of pace and balance. The usual Gorillaz affair is this time peppered with slower, softer numbers. 'Broken' is one good example, which interestingly shows strong Beach House influence. And 'Cloud of Unknowing' and 'Pirate Jet' finish the album off in merry, relaxed spirit. What's interesting to note is how the first half of 'Plastic Beach' is packed with the bulk of the 'hits', as it were. 'Welcome to the world…', 'White Flag', 'Stylo', the first singe, and 'Superfast Jellyfish' are all fronted in the track sequence. Consequently, the second half is a more calm affair.
Five years in the waiting, but 'Plastic Beach' was well worth it. It really does seems like the time-perfected output of an artist at the top of his game. Damon, former Blur-frontman, seems to have successfully embodied the best of past efforts, and stripped out all the previous slightly frustrating aspects, in the process producing one fun-filled, well balanced record.
Listen now on Spotify
Moneeb
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