Gorillaz – Plastic Beach – Review
Posted by Staff on March 2, 2010 – 12:26 am -
Release Date: March 9th, 2010
Record Label: Virgin Records
Genre: Hip-Pop Rock
It’s been a few years since Gorillaz graced our presence with an effort that truly turned the music scene on its ear, 9 to be exact. Gorillaz self-titled album, with its hodgepodge of hip-hop, rock, latin, punk, and reggae, laid down critically acclaimed songs such as the classic “Clint Eastwood,” “Tomorrow Comes Today,” and “19-2000.” This was all orchestrated to appear as a four piece virtual band of characters (while really only consisting of Damon Albarn of Blur and Jamie Hewlett) and early in the decade, it simply blew minds. After their equally successful 2005 effort “Demon Days,” it was another 5 years before we would hear any new material from the duo four-piece, but with the coming of the new decade, “Plastic Beach” has been tied in a bow and delivered to us.
I’ll be the first to admit it, the world of pop/hip-hop/rock has felt a little empty these past few years. I mean sure, “Feel Good Inc.” was a radio song through and through, but its (and the rest of Demon Days’) crystal clear production, creative instrumentation and catchy beats, set a high standard for genre-stretching wannabes and imitators. “Plastic Beach” is no different. From the Snoop Dogg-lead beginning of “Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach,” to the mixing of arcade effects, acoustics, and lethargic vocals in “Rhinestone Eyes,” and on to the 80′s influenced, poppy track, “On Melancholy Hill,” you are guaranteed to find something that appeals to your tastes; just like their previous releases. A majority of it actually has a lot of replay value too.
Sometimes I get to thinking about all the pretentious creativity that comes from artists like Gnarls Barkley, Lady Gaga, and Snow Patrol — but with Gorillaz, you don’t have to be a total asshole to listen to and enjoy this music. You just have like talented lyricists, most notably Mos Def and De La Soul, with the addition of finicky beats and patch-worked effects, making an almost techno approach to hiphop/rock. One glaring absence this time around focused around the…. well absence of the band. 2D and Murdoc are virtually gone vocally and in presence for most of “”Plastic Beach,” and nothing on the album, short of the title-track, feels anything like their traditional songs. The band element has all but been erased, except minuet blasts of 2D coming in for a short chorus line or two, and we are only left with tracks of techno rapping and Bobby Womack belting out a few lines, in a sense.
Personally it felt bittersweet, as I was able to enjoy those tracks because of their bountiful singing talent and orchestral reverence (ie “Cloud Of Unknowing”) , but I still missed the central theme of the Gorillaz as a band with occasional guests, and not a side project with staple names and sounds changing everything. Gorillaz have still made some of the best musicianship released so far this year, and “Plastic Beach” while different, just has so much ambition and creative force behind it, that nothing can stand in its way. It also happens to be filled with addictive beats, thought-filled, poetic lyrics, and out-of-this-world effects, that people every where will start pulling out their cardboard to break-dance to. ~Staff
Score: 4/5
Track Listing:
1. Orchestral Intro
2. Welcome To The World of The Plastic Beach
3. White Flag
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo
6. Superfast Jellyfish
7. Empire Ants
8. Glitter Freeze
9. Some Kind of Nature
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes
13. Plastic Beach
14. To Binge
15. Cloud of Unknowing
16. Pirate Jet
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