Artist – Album: Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Released: 26th
March 2001
Sounds Like: A helluva lot cooler than the Archies.
Gorillaz weren’t the
first hit cartoon group – Comic book characters The Archies were the sickly
sweet one hit wonderers responsible for ‘Sugar,
Sugar’ – but they were still something startlingly new when they first
landed in the early noughties.
The fantastic, Thriller, Dawn of the Dead AND Braindead
referencing music video to ‘Clint
Eastwood’ (no, I didn’t pick up on all the cultural nods either), actually
served to distract from the cool and refreshing blend of trip hop beats and
indie rock sensibilities created by Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and producer
Dan “The Automator” Nakamura. Or 2D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle, as their
fictional representatives are known. ‘Clint
Eastwood’ is without a doubt the strongest track on the album, a The Good,
The Bad and The Ugly sampling hip hop pastiche, well described by Allmusic as
an update of the Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’. But
it ain’t the be all and end all as far as the album goes. ‘Re-Hash’ and ‘ 5/4’ are more straightforward but good indie songs,
whilst ‘Rock the House’ and ’19-2000’ were enjoyable singles by their
own right.
I remember that one of my MTV-less friends went to see
Gorillaz soon after the release of this album, and he was so devastated to find
that he couldn’t see the real band, as they played behind the screen on to
which their animated alter-egos were projected. Having never seen the videos,
he had just thought Gorillaz was just the name of Blur singer Damon Albarn’s
side project, the title of his dabbling into a variety of genres that his main
group wouldn’t touch with a ten foot barge pole (now, a twelve foot barge pole
would be a different matter altogether). For the most part, this isn’t just
some rock stars wanky meanderings into strange territory, and some of this is
great fun. But at times it does descend into for-the-big-fans-only territory,
and it’s easy to see how the boy made the mistake. Still, it’s a great debut
album from a band that aren’t afraid to do things differently.
Albumaday... rating:
7/10
1. Re-Hash
– 3:37
2. 5/4
– 2:39
3. Tomorrow
Comes Today – 3:12
4. New
Genius (Brother) – 3:57
5. Clint
Eastwood – 5:39
6. Man
Research (Clapper) – 4:32
7. Punk
– 1:36
8. Sound
Check (Gravity) – 4:40
9. Double
Bass – 4:44
10. Rock
the House – 4:08
11. 19-2000
– 3:27
12. Latin
Simone (¿Que Pasa Contigo?) – 3:36
13. Starshine
– 3:31
14. Slow
Country – 3:35
15. M1
A1 – 10:40
Listen to ‘Slow
Country’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jO0r1vu5Ek
Also released on the 26th March:
1996: Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island
|
Also released on the 26th March:
2007: The Bees - Octopus
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