Gorillaz

What do you get when you combine Damon Albarn, singer for Britpop superstars Blur, with hip-hop producer Dan The Automator? Gorillaz, silly! Albarn takes a busman’s holiday and avails himself of the opportunity to take the kind of sonic risks one would be unlikely to find on a Blur album. This isn’t hip-hop or dance music per se, though “Rock the House” is a bona-fide party rap tune, and Dan The Automator adds plenty of hip-hop elements and trip-hop beats throughout.

Ultimately, GORILLAZ is occupied by Albarn’s arch, twisted pop vision filtered through a dizzying array of electronic sounds and studio manipulations. There are some interesting stylistic experiments, too, as on the Latin-style “Latin Simone,” which features a guest vocal from none other than Cuban legend Ibrahim Ferrer, and “Slow Country,” which, despite its title, is an excursion into the atmospheric land of dub reggae. This is a far cry from Britpop–imagine Blur in a sonic kaleidoscope. And then try in vain to imagine either of the Gallagher brothers attempting anything close to this.

What the critics say…

Rolling Stone (6/21/01, p.78) – 3 stars out of 5 – “…A playful piece of genre-squishing art pop. Inspired by the punky reggae parties of SANDINISTA!-era Clash….running with anything-goes avant-aesthetic…”

Spin (1/02, p.76) – Ranked #6 in Spin’s “Albums of the Year 2001”.

Spin (6/01, p.148) – 7 out of 10 – “…A multiculti grasp of the sweetest kind….Easy on the ears because they know the difference between calling people up and casting them…”

Q (5/01, p.115) – 4 stars out of 5 – “…With its creepily urban feel, and innocent, nursery-rhyme quality of the melodies, Gorillaz couldn’t be further from a self-consciously arch ‘art’ supergroup…”

Alternative Press (2/02, p.65) – Ranked #15 in AP’s “25 Best Albums of 2001”.

Alternative Press (7/01, p.68) – 8 out of 10 – “…Brilliant…”

Magnet (6–7/01, pp.89–90) – “…Nothing short of sheer musical buggery…”

Muzik (5/01, p.66) – 5 out of 5 – “…Genre-splicing, sample-collaging, spliffed-out hip hop…standing head and shoulders over anything Blur have ever achieved…and even overshadows much of Dan The Automator’s recent output…”

Mojo (Publisher) (4/01, p.98) – “…A funky…meld of dub, reggae, hip hop, world music, pop and thrash punk….Electric, upbeat, and actually very good.”

NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) – Ranked #48 in NME’s 50 “Albums Of the Year 2001”.