Review Summary: What is this loneliness?
Ever since the turn of the century, loneliness has been the central theme of Damon Albarn’s music. His 2014 solo album, "Everyday Robots", is full of lyrics about interpersonal relationships broken down by technology (see “Lonely Press Play” and “The Selfish Giant”). Similarly, 2015’s "The Magic Whip" saw Blur take a detour down the moody, neon-lit alleyways of Hong Kong. Songs like “New World Towers” further emphasized Albarn’s feelings of isolation in the modern world’s ever-growing industrial sprawl.
The interesting thing, however, is that Albarn doesn’t necessarily view solitude as a bad thing. The first Gorillaz album-- (a self-titled LP released in 2001)-- proves this. Here, Albarn turns loneliness into an aesthetic. As the first “virtual band” to gain notoriety, Gorillaz was born through the very technology that Albarn laments in later releases. They didn’t burst into the spotlight through live shows or interviews; on the contrary; many fans’ first exposure to Gorillaz came through the late-night music videos that Toonami played between anime episodes. And (not surprisingly) the midnight "Cowboy Bebop" viewer could relate to the lyrics and aesthetic of the Gorillaz far more than the average concert-goer who only knew about Blur from the “woo-hoo” song. Today, we know that the initial idea of Gorillaz was a failure, since holographic performances proved too expensive, and the long-discussed Gorillaz movie was eventually cancelled. Knowing this, it is important to judge the album on the music alone, rather than the concepts it promised (and failed) to advance.
In the context of Albarn’s career thus far, "Gorillaz" marks a turning point. As the world transitioned into the 21st century, Albarn’s music transitioned from day into night. This is very much a night album, but not in a scary or threatening way. The darkness in "Demon Days" is more apocalyptic and zombie-like in nature, but in this debut, it has a calming effect. Tracks like “Starshine” and the dub-inspired “Slow Country” wash over the listener in a soothing, dusky wave. In the former, Albarn sings that “starshine” is “never gonna find me”, but he seems rather content with the idea. Like a drifter, he lazily wanders the moonlit streets from song to song, choosing to primarily sing in a high-pitched warble instead of his standard range.
"Gorillaz" is also a city album. As the band’s most explicitly British work, the genres explored in these songs are as diverse as the London music scene. This is also one of the first occasions when Albarn dips a toe into world music. “Tomorrow Comes Today” and “Sound Check (Gravity)” are reminiscent of trip-hop bands like Massive Attack, while tracks like “5/4” and “M1A1” are harder around the edges, bringing to mind the early work of The Clash. (“5/4” is also notable for containing the best lyric in the entire Gorillaz discography: “SHE TURNED MY DAD ONNNN”). Other tracks explore jazz rap (“Rock the House”), latin music (“Latin Simone”), and punk rock (the aptly named “Punk”). The genre-mashing of later Gorillaz albums ("Plastic Beach" in particular) would put this one to shame, but the debut album is more content to explore one city rather than the entire globe.
While there are some obvious stand-out tracks (Del’s appearance on “Clint Eastwood” remains the most successful Gorillaz rap feature, and Tina Weymouth’s addition to the video-gamey “19-2000” is a breath of fresh air) there are also some highly underrated songs on this album. “Man Research (Clapper)” is a psychedelic romp which sees Albarn chanting in an incoherent, Animal Collective-esque frenzy. “Double Bass” sounds like stereotypical elevator music, but with a spooky, paranoid twist. Like many of the tracks here, it’s a bit too drawn-out, but it’s still a lot of fun.
Ultimately, that’s the main draw of this album: fun. Unlike "Demon Days", which featured highly political messages on gun violence and the Iraq War, this debut album is much more introspective and carefree. Even when Albarn sings about how he “can’t stand your loneliness”, the music is still breezy and zany. Looking back at Albarn’s “lonely phase” of albums, this one stands out as the most enjoyable. The lyrics still deal with isolation and anxiety, but unlike "Everyday Robots", the music itself refuses to get bogged down in a mire of depression. On “Clint Eastwood”, Albarn sings that he “ain’t happy”, but the song’s upbeat nature speaks the opposite.
This album received mixed reviews at the time of release, but looking back, it’s a huge stepping stone in Albarn’s career, and a significant musical work in its own right. People’s initial expectations for the band were unreasonably high, which makes their debut much better in retrospect. While it is largely defined by its singles and isn’t quite as fleshed-out or cohesive as future efforts, "Gorillaz" makes up for that with a spirit of adventure and playfulness. As the debut showcase of a revolutionary multi-media experiment, it largely falls flat. But as a quirky midnight ride through downtown London and the stranger parts of Damon Albarn’s brain, it’s a huge success.
Favorite Tracks: 5/4, Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood
Least Favorite Track: Re-Hash
