My Album of the Now: Plastic Beach

xxrubberxduckyxx May 16, 2010

The Gorillaz are back!

I was inexpressively excited about the release of the Gorillaz third album, Plastic Beach. Five years after Demon Days, the new album does not disappoint! Sure, older fans might find it a bit unfamiliar at first, but it definitely grows on you.

The last album undoubtedly left us in anticipation for the next Gorillaz offering, what with Noodle being blown up in the El Manana video. Demonic, Satanist bassist, Murdoc, assures as that she is in fact not dead, but holidaying somewhere or…err, trapped in hell was it? Something like that. Well, recently Murdoc has been rounding up the rest of the Gorillaz, somewhat unsuccessfully (Poor 2-D was gassed and kidnapped, an android-Noodle had to be created to replace the real one, and one has no clue about Russell Hobbs) to his new found substitute of Kong Studios, Plastic Beach. Described as being a small island, where all the garbage and refuse in the world is somehow attracted to, as isolated as possible from just about everything, Plastic Beach is where this magical album was created.

This time, it’s a little less rock, less guitar, less drum and bass, but more pop, electronic and ambient, giving a melancholic, hazy sound, with bursts of beeps and bleeps. It still keeps plenty of the hip-hop elements of the Gorillaz, collaborating with some of the best rappers: Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed and De La Soul, just to name a few, plus Bobby Womack and Little Dragon (Yukimi Nagano)- who’s vocals on Empire Ants and To Binge are just enchanting.

It was officially released on the 3^rd of March, with Stylo (described as “An electro-ish ‘crack funk’ sound” and “a dark twisted track that sounds like the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack on MDMA”) and White FlagSweepstakes.’ I guess I’m not too fond of the Grime-rapping), but really, it only gets better. A little while back, on the 9^th of May, Superfast Jellyfish featuring Gruff Rhys and De La Soul was released. It’s a really fun, humorous song, concerning fast-food. Some good tracks to listen to are Rhinestone Eyes(I love the ‘that’s electric’ part), Plastic Beach(very catchy, the chorus sticks in your head forever) and Empire Ants (a floaty, melodic song). being released as singles before that. I have to admit though, White Flag is probably one of my least favorite songs on the album (Along with ‘

Be sure to visit the Gorillaz website, now reconstructed, with an interactive Plastic Beach instead of Kong Studios. As you spend your time on Plastic Beach, the story is slowly revealed (Although, you only really find out what happened to 2-D and Murdoc as of yet). So keep your eyes peeled for more Gorillaz happenings: single releases, site updates, videos.

It’s assured to get interesting!

My Album of the Now: Plastic Beach photo 1