Although the official Gorillaz party line is that it’s a virtual quartet—with headquarters now based at “Plastic Beach,” atop a floating trash heap in the South Pacific—the reality is that it’s still the musical project of Blur’s Damon Albarn and comic-book artist Jamie Hewlett. Plastic Beach, the third Gorillaz album, should be a creative smash; guests include Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, The Fall’s Mark E. Smith and The Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon.
The Details
Plenty of whimsy runs through the songs—from the demure orchestra/Technicolor grime-rap battle of “White Flag” to Gruff Rhys’ nonsense helium spews wrapping around De La Soul’s expressive storytelling in “Superfast Jellyfish.” Yet, as befitting a band whose members are represented by cartoons, Beach’s dub-hop/synth-noir hybrids often lack a pulse. “On Melancholy Hill” sounds like a Muzak version of a new-wave tune, and both Reed and Smith’s contributions are gritted-teeth stumbles. As on past records, Gorillaz excels when sticking to pop constructs. Jones and Simonon’s musical collaboration—their first together since The Clash—make the title track a highlight. Loopy keyboards and dank, cinematic atmospheres lazily unfold behind Albarn’s pale, ghostly murmurings about a “Casio on a plastic beach.” Womack’s excellent contributions, meanwhile, are both soulful (the gospel-tinged “Cloud of Unknowing”) and funky-chaos (“Stylo,” a new-wave playground featuring Mos Def asides and Albarn’s most nuanced delivery).
Strong songwriting helped Gorillaz transcend the gimmick tag for two albums. Unfortunately, the group isn’t so lucky this time.
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