Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett’s animated alter egos, Gorillaz, return with Plastic Beach. The animated Hip Hop heroes have sold over twelve million records but instead of buying big animated mansions in Tahiti, they have set up shop on a garbage heap, containing the last remnants of humanity as well as plenty of detritus, for this album.
The album opens with a wildly epic setup appropriately titled “Orchestral Intro.” From there we are formally introduced to the band’s current headquarters before the album really kicks into gear with the fast-paced and L.A. Symphony-esqe “White Flag.” The laid back “Rhinestone Eyes” is fine but doesn’t seem to go anywhere but then “Stylo” hits and makes you want to get up and hit the dance floor. It was made for disco balls and laser lights and quickly reminds you just who exactly Gnarls Barkly stole much of their sound from. The same goes for my personal favorite track, “On Melancholy Hill,” and “Glitter Freeze.” The title track redirects the listener back towards the Hip Hop side but has this weird sort of Pink Floyd undercurrent that makes it one of the freakiest songs on the album, brilliantly followed in the same manner by “To Binge.”
While there are a lot of instruments involved here, the heavy electronics and the style of the beats throughout make it sound very minimal, which is one of the things I most enjoy about this as compared to their previous two releases. At first this album rubbed me the wrong way but by about halfway through the second listen I was entirely sold. There’s a lot going on on Plastic Beach and it’s not an album that is easily pushed to the background. If you are looking for something new and interesting and don’t mind Hip Hop overtones then you should certainly check out the Gorillaz latest opus. You won’t regret it.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
