Welcome to the Plastic Beach
Gorillaz — Plastic
Beach
The Gorillaz newest album Plastic Beach hit shelves in March but fans are a little confused. Plastic Beach isn't exactly what people have come to expect from the space-oddity of a group that is Gorillaz, but it should be, because as a group Gorillaz are always changing, and Plastic Beach is an audio representation of the chameleonic quality the group possesses.
Ditching the former cartoon gimmick, Plastic Beach is a compilation album, with a roster of star studded guests including: Mos Def, Lou Reed, De La Soul, Mick Jones, Snoop Dogg and more. With a diverse collective of artists, the result of Plastic Beach is a fun, alt-hip hop/pop album. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's original concept for Plastic Beach was that it wouldn't be a Gorillaz album at all, but rather a side-project in which they could do what they wanted without the ball and chain of preconceived expectations, they released it anyway and revealed that Gorillaz don't want to fit in because they'll just shove their way through and make a new place.
Plastic Beach is a 16-track 56- minute disc with a ton of variety to keep listeners happy. The album itself feels transcendent and Albarn is freeing himself from former obligations and really experimenting with some new ground. Tracks like the mocking Superfast Jellyfish (that challenges you to just try to eat at a McDonalds again with lyrics like: “Enjoy the gritty crunch…tastes just like chicken”) and Stylo sound blatantly like hits the first listen, while some require a little further (although extremely worthwhile) investigation such as the understated To Binge. The umbrella of Plastic Beach was that it was a semi-concept album, based around ecology, consumerism and destruction, as a result the lyrics are bitter, biting and sarcastic, expressing a deep dissatisfaction in regards to global problems.
Lush instrumentals saturate the background of Plastic Beach, while hip-hop overtones dominate the majority of the album and the result is something a little less psychedelic and a little more experienced and orchestrated. Coming off as a bit thrown together at times, with tracks like Welcome To The Plastic Beach featuring Snoop Dogg and Glitter Freeze that seem like they really lack an actual place on the album in a linear way, Albarns' vocals and lyrics have become more developed with experience and there are some particularly impressive harmonies on Empire Ants. Something must be working, because the shows are sold out and Plastic Beach is topping charts. Never boring, always unique, Gorillaz continue to genre-bend and break barriers.
For those out there who aren't so sure they'll dig the new sound, Gorillaz have uploaded a free album mix that's available at: http://gorillaz.com/f/albummix.
More Gorillaz info at: http://gorillaz.com
The Gorillaz newest album Plastic Beach hit shelves in March but fans are a little confused. Plastic Beach isn't exactly what people have come to expect from the space-oddity of a group that is Gorillaz, but it should be, because as a group Gorillaz are always changing, and Plastic Beach is an audio representation of the chameleonic quality the group possesses.
Ditching the former cartoon gimmick, Plastic Beach is a compilation album, with a roster of star studded guests including: Mos Def, Lou Reed, De La Soul, Mick Jones, Snoop Dogg and more. With a diverse collective of artists, the result of Plastic Beach is a fun, alt-hip hop/pop album. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's original concept for Plastic Beach was that it wouldn't be a Gorillaz album at all, but rather a side-project in which they could do what they wanted without the ball and chain of preconceived expectations, they released it anyway and revealed that Gorillaz don't want to fit in because they'll just shove their way through and make a new place.
Plastic Beach is a 16-track 56- minute disc with a ton of variety to keep listeners happy. The album itself feels transcendent and Albarn is freeing himself from former obligations and really experimenting with some new ground. Tracks like the mocking Superfast Jellyfish (that challenges you to just try to eat at a McDonalds again with lyrics like: “Enjoy the gritty crunch…tastes just like chicken”) and Stylo sound blatantly like hits the first listen, while some require a little further (although extremely worthwhile) investigation such as the understated To Binge. The umbrella of Plastic Beach was that it was a semi-concept album, based around ecology, consumerism and destruction, as a result the lyrics are bitter, biting and sarcastic, expressing a deep dissatisfaction in regards to global problems.
Lush instrumentals saturate the background of Plastic Beach, while hip-hop overtones dominate the majority of the album and the result is something a little less psychedelic and a little more experienced and orchestrated. Coming off as a bit thrown together at times, with tracks like Welcome To The Plastic Beach featuring Snoop Dogg and Glitter Freeze that seem like they really lack an actual place on the album in a linear way, Albarns' vocals and lyrics have become more developed with experience and there are some particularly impressive harmonies on Empire Ants. Something must be working, because the shows are sold out and Plastic Beach is topping charts. Never boring, always unique, Gorillaz continue to genre-bend and break barriers.
For those out there who aren't so sure they'll dig the new sound, Gorillaz have uploaded a free album mix that's available at: http://gorillaz.com/f/albummix.
More Gorillaz info at: http://gorillaz.com
