Yes, yes. Gorillaz’ latest LP Plastic Beach has been around for an e-age now and has received plenty of attention both on the blogs and radio alike. So why bother posting about it? Well I like it, that’s why. Plus I’m a little slow.
I first sampled Plastic Beach whilst traversing the bridge to visit Grandma. Triple J informed me that the new Gorillaz track was coming up so I turned the volume up in eager anticipation, I was not disappointed. Stylo, featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack, was precisely the groove ridden track that I needed to power through the afternoon. As soon as I got home I was on to downloading my copy of Stylo in record speed, really, super quick. Being a big fan of Mos Def’s output, particularly with Blackstar collaborator Talib Kweli, and Womack’s pedigree with decades of soul and funk recordings made this an all too exciting collaboration. I think the product is contemporary, soulful and progressive through Damon Albarn’s effortless fusion of all three artist’s style. Easily my favourite track on the LP.
Rhinestone Eyes is also another top track from the release, which I prefer to the other singles “Melancholy Hill” and “Superfast Jellyfish”. Unlike the singles, Rhinestone sticks to Gorillaz core sound and is the best indication of where Albarn is at right now as an individual artist. The synths are undeniably dark and fuse perfectly with Albarn’s monotonous mumbling of his dystopic lyrics. The portrait of a dysfunctional consumerist society is masterfully painted. Plus you can still dance your ass off to it. I think this track shows us why Gorillaz are one of the coolest musical entities going around.
Check out the samples below. The Louis La Roche remix of Stylo is off the hook. Never heard of this guy before but will definitely be looking for more now.
Happy Music 