What an unusual band the Gorillaz are, except they aren’t a real “band” per say. They are an animated group of characters that play music. The Gorillaz members include 2-D (the singer/keyboardist), Murdoc (bassist), Russel (drums) and Noodle (guitar). Each character has their own unique traits and background. The idea came from Blur’s front man Damon Albarn, Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and the creator of the “Tank Girl” comics Jamie Hewlett. Also collaborating on the album is Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and The Tom Tom Club’s Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. Together they are GORILLAZ. The group is best known for their radio friendly hit “Clint Eastwood”, featured on their self-titled debut album. Since then I believe they have released two records. To check them out further or if you just want to see the internet’s best animation, they have a very good website. [url]www.gorillaz.com[/url]
Re-Hash …Almost has a 60s vibe to it. Starts with an acoustic guitar riff and a nice drumbeat accompanied by male and female vocals. There are also some sorts of Asian instrumentals but I’m not sure of the specific instrument. The lyrics aren’t really varied…pretty much just a big drug reference. Not a strong opening. (2.5/5)
5/4 …Starts off relatively well with good guitar, but soon looses its flavor and starts sounding like a 80s pop song with confusing lyrics. (2/5)
Tomorrow Comes Today …Skip the first two songs and start listening here, for this is a very cool song. Starts with a muffled hip hop drumbeat, then piano and what sounds like harmonica. Overall it has a very sad sound but in a good bluesy way. (4.5/5)
New Genius (Brother) [Mix]…This could almost be a continuance of the previous track with its spacey laid-back vibe. I really liked the lyrics and how they have an almost subtle threat to them. (4/5)
Clint Eastwood …The hit single, the one with the video on MTV, and not a bad song. The delivery of the lyrics and the words themselves are the high light. Theirs a dark ominous piano and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien’s rapping to 2-D’s chorus is perfect. The only downside is that the song draws on a little too long with just the same instrumentals being continued. (5/5)
Man Research (Clapper)…Strange video gamey sounds, a heartbeat drumbeat and eerie vocals that start to sound like Indian chanting. It becomes repetitive. (1.5/5)
Punk …Sounds more like Blur’s British pop rock with muffled vocals and clapping. Sounds different than everything else on the album but there’s still nothing that makes it really stand out. (2.5/5)
Sound Check (Gravity) [Mix]…Starts with single acoustic strumming and haunting vocals. Doesn’t sound very promising but then some beefy guitar comes in with a good drumbeat and some scratching. The vocals also change for the better but maintain the same haunting hopelessness as the first verse-which it goes right back too. For the conclusion of the song both verses come together simultaneously which creates a very cool effect. (4/5)
Double Bass …What a great song to skip. There is nothing here, just the same guitar riff over and over again with some electronic noises and no real vocals. Sounds like they remixed some elevator music. It also goes on way too long. (1/5)
Rock the House…The official dance song of the CD. It starts off with some festive horns and even a flute or something of that nature. It’s pretty much just a party song with shallow party lyrics, which isn’t really a bad thing. Del raps about just having a good time. (3.5/5)
19-2000 …Another party song, which sounds even happier, a little too happy. It has a humorous vibe to it and pulls it off quit well. However, this song was used in a commercial for gum, which caused it to loose its appeal. (3/5)
Latin Simone [Que Pasa Contigo]…Begins with an interesting shuffle sound that works very well with the all-Spanish sung vocals and horns. It’s a strange song but it just has a good effect and its one of my favorites on the album. (4.5/5)
Starshine …Kind of boring. Starts with an extremely slow drumbeat and a depressive yet cool bass line. Theirs no real verses or chorus just repeated lyrics. (2.5/5)
Slow Country …Begins with a laid back beachy noise; some uplifting piano and just a nice rolling mellow laid back rhythm. The vocals are also sung fittingly with a nice melody and it all flows very well. It would be good at the end of a movie at the part where everything comes together and theirs a happy ending. (5/5)
M1 A1…Definitely an interesting track. It begins with about two minutes of suspenseful music and a guy repeatedly saying “Hello, is anybody there” It certainly builds tension but to nothing. A guitar slowly fades in and the song totally changes direction to British rock. Another track that sounds like Blur, and a very good Blur at that. (4/5)
Dracula …think of it as a jazz/reggae song about vampires. Very laid back with good lyrics and an equally good bass line. (4/5)
Left Hand Suzuki Method …Weirdest song on here, it’s all over the place. Begins with bubbling noise, some suspenseful music then heavy hip hop drums and Noodle speaking Japanese with some gospel sounding “ooooh” the background. It then goes into a violin solo accompanied by some western saloon-sounding piano of some sort, which actually sounds cool. (3.5/5)
When focused just on the music, the CD is quit varied without any real kind of positive or negative consistency. It combines a lot of different musical genres, which worked for most of the songs but failed for others. I would say it’s an acquired taste because of the utter weirdness to it. Simple rock and hip-hop kind of took a backseat and the sound was primarily electronic. However, the idea of Gorillaz helps pull the whole thing off; 2-D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle prove that their more than just an outlandish gimmick.
Note: The CD includes special features which can be viewed on a computer.
