Gorillaz
Plastic Beach
Virgin
Mar 26, 2010
Gorillaz
2001. Boy bands continued to reign, and music fans, for the most part, still bought physical CDs at some store called Best Buy (you might have heard of it). So naturally, when Gorillaz’s self-titled debut was released that year, there was something incredibly refreshing about it. One of Britpop’s heroes, Damon Albarn of Blur, had reclaimed pop music with his droll yet wide-ranging voice, and infused it with cleverness and simplicity and, uh, animated characters.
2010. Plastic Beach, the third album from Gorillaz is released in what some may call a post-digital world, a world in which the idea of a virtual band isn’t really all that surprising. Even less surprising, the album proves to be a more “difficult” album than Gorillaz’s past two, with Albarn and his rotating all-star cast (Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, and Lou Reed all rap, if that’s what one would call Reed’s awkward sing-speak on “Some Kind of Nature”) weaving an ecology narrative through dubstep/electropop soundscapes. It’s a lot to take in, and the mind is not sure where to start.
Perhaps a logical place to start is with Snoop Dogg. He sets the tone of Plastic Beach on its second track, “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach,” laying out the environmental issues plaguing both the world inhabited by Gorillaz members and our own planet. Never have these problems sounded so good, Snoop’s laidback rhymes gliding over a driving drum beat and light synth touches.
The songs immediately following “Plastic Beach” are the album’s strongest, including the ‘80s-cop-show-esque first single “Stylo” (featuring freestyling wails from soul great Bobby Womack) and goofy-as-hell second single “Superfast Jellyfish” (featuring De La Soul and Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys). But from there on, Plastic Beach‘s remaining eight tracks sound less immediate, sometimes getting lost in the album’s complicated—albeit culturally-relevant—concept. (www.gorillaz.com)
Author rating: 7/10
Average reader rating: 8/10
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Comments
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March 30th 2010
5:08am
I feel like this album is one of those that won’t really grab you until one day you’re passively listening to it, writing or surfing the internet or playing a game, and you don’t consciously skip tracks. That’s when you catch yourself nodding to Glitter Freeze and Rhinestone Eyes. That’s when you realize that even though it’s not the kind of three ring circus of the first two, it’s still a great album that adds a nice background to just about anything you’re doing.
June 19th 2010
12:07pm
I loved the last two albums. This one…Unlistenable. If I need background music like this I will break out my old casio keyboard.
September 17th 2010
7:26am
Hi,
Hey, I was listening to the new album ‘Plastic Beach’ from the Gorillaz from there ‘Phase 3’.To be honest, I think they went down hill dramaticly and will loose a ton of fans.I couldn’t care less, they’re the Gorillaz and I love there music. Just a bit of an awkward moment listening to something so different.Anyway, give a listen and tell me what you think.
November 1st 2010
1:43am
My computer won’t load any of the little black boxes that pop up, so I have no idea as to where to go from there.What are the instructions for the circuit breaker on the Gorillaz Plastic Beach game?