Still feelin’ good
CD name: ‘Plastic Beach’Artist: GorillazGenre: Alternative/electronic/hip-hopSounds like: Classic GorillazSoundwaves: 4/5Release date: March 9
Cheer is such a rarity in music these days. With its latest effort, ‘Plastic Beach,’ Gorillaz delivers another free-spirited and cheery album that will make anyone feel good — rain or shine. The new collection of songs features unexpected and diverse appearances from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Bobby Womack and Lou Reed. Gorillaz maintains the catchy, lighthearted spirit of the band’s 2005 smash, ‘Feel Good, Inc.,’ throughout ‘Plastic Beach’ and mixes in a bevy of cool new influences. It’s ironic – though the band exists through animated cartoon characters, Gorillaz’s style is as real as it gets.
Opening instrumental ‘Orchestral Intro’ sets the album’s concept: being dropped off in an unfamiliar, artificial world that Gorillaz defines as plastic. The ominous tones at the end of this intro prepare listeners for a switch as ‘Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach’ kicks in. A fat, funky bass line grounds this track as an unexpected Snoop Dogg pops in to spice things up. The song has terrific replay value and should emerge as a hit. ‘White Flag’ is a strange trip along the shores of the Plastic Beach — it combines foreign rhythms and instrumentation, and the result is surprisingly kooky and cool.
‘Rhinestone Eyes’ resembles old-school Gorillaz. The distorted voice of lead singer Damon Albarn over trademark synthesizers and electronic beeps is pleasantly familiar. ‘Stylo’ is the eclectic lead single that features rapper Mos Def and classic soul crooner Bobby Womack. It is odd, unpredictable and reinforces Albarn’s keen ability to blend musical styles. ‘Superfast Jellyfish’ continues the lighthearted mood. This bass-heavy track features hip-hop pioneer De La Soul, who previously collaborated with Gorillaz on ‘Feel Good, Inc.’ ‘Jellyfish’ is equally bubbly, alternating a bright chorus with De La Soul’s nonsensical verses about cooking food.
The first six tracks of ‘Plastic Beach’ fly by. With ‘Empire Ants,’ the tempo slows down for the first time. Acoustic strums and guitar licks form the song’s foundation, which is a nice breath of fresh air. ‘Glitter Freeze,’ a wacky dance-groove instrumental, is one of the weaker tracks — it sounds uninspired within the context of the album’s first half. Fortunately, ‘Some Kind of Nature’ kicks the latter half off well. The song features American rock pioneer Lou Reed, who contributes his trademark grungy vocals over a poppy piano beat. It is fun, up-tempo and transitions well into the excellent ‘On Melancholy Hill.’ Irony prevails, as painful lyrics contrast with a dance groove. With understated harmonies reminiscent of MGMT, this should prove to be a big hit.
‘Broken’ is a mediocre cut. Despite Albarn’s thoughtfully poetic lyrics, the track suffers from uninspired melodies and a boring drum loop. ‘Sweepstakes’ immediately regains the momentum, as an energetic Mos Def flows over the equally funky Hypnotic Brass Ensemble instrumentation. Title track ‘Plastic Beach’ features Clash guitarist Mick Jones and renowned songwriter Paul Simon joining forces over a wild electronic beat. ‘To Binge’ slows things down, showcasing spacey guitar work and a plodding tempo that is weirdly effective. ‘Cloud of Knowing’ reintroduces Bobby Womack’s croons, which are soulful and heartfelt, but the track fails to build or evolve at all. Outro ‘Pirate Jet’ bookends things as we leave the artificial plastic beach on — what else? — an airplane. How fitting.
This album is great, flat out. Gorillaz effectively conveys the emotional detachment that results from buying ready-made consumer products in an increasingly artificial society. Musically, there is enough diversity and genre-bending in this dense meal to feed an army. But any consumer will enjoy the taste.
Published on March 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm
