The new Gorillaz album leaked.

Im on track 4 now. "Intro" is the same bit of music that plays as the current web site's intro music. "Last Living Souls" sounds fantastic on the first listen. Like the singles, it sounds like a bit of a mish mash of seperate songs. The third track is incomplete and cuts off after 19 seconds. Track 9 seems to be missing entirely.

Seriously, this record is like "Modern Life is Rubbish" to the debut's "Leisure" in terms of quality.

PS. Thank you x 12.5

thank you.

hollerr.

http://s39.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0HVDXC3H7MI6720VOWN6O61NWC

I'm running 5.08, but I imagine one my output plugins probably messed up some of the default settings.

Can someone ysi the Doom track? Mine didn't come with it.

Getting to hear a better quality version of Dirty Harry has made the pisspoor quality of the rap a lot more obvious.

I can't believe it took so long before someone posted that.

http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0IF1VGTXD8W6C0K5EJSY1L7F6Y

but i'm waiting till the proper product drops.

i like the tension and the build up.

glad to see its getting some fine responses though ..

Can you YSI it? Gmail? Pigeon carrier? Sublimate?

Gorillaz had to have raked in a lot of cash for the automator, and I bet this one will do the same for Dangermouse.

SPOILER ! :

the bit where martina topley bird comes in on 'all alone' must rank as one of the most heart-stopping surprises on a record in living memory. like so much of the lp it really shouldn't work but just...does.

it's redefining the term 'eclectic' for me too.

it's weird, the songs never feel like they're going to fall apart any minute, but when you listen you're sort of thinking
'how is this hanging together so well?'

"And I'm balding/and I wish I wasn't/Oh Justine, if only/Hmmm hmmm where is Graham?"

http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/deliverMedia.asp?id=1f0c553a-b121-42de-a639-3e3e4d03e786&delivery=stream

huge fun.

m.e

I find it kind of funny that the songs with less albarn are being released as singles.

Well, the track listing, at least.

1.Intro
2.Seagull Massacre
3.Broken (featuring Mos Def)
4.Stylo (featuring Bruce Willis)
5.Electric Shock (featuring De La Soul)
6.Satan’s Burlesque (featuring the Horrors)
7.Pirate Ship (featuring Mark E Smith and Einar Örn Benediktsson)
8.Sweep Stakes (featuring Mos Def)
9.Carousel (featuring De La Soul)
10.Sloped Tropics (featuring De La Soul)
11.Twilight (featuring Ozzy Osbourne)
12.Daydream Daemon (featuring Mos Def)
13.Plastic Beach (featuring Lou Reed)
14.Banana Bunch (featuring Snoop Dog)
15.Arming The Nation (featuring Barry Gibb and Bobby Womack)
16.Closing Time

Mark E Smith!!!!

What an odd list of collaborators! Lots of Mos Def though, I like that.

4.Stylo (featuring Bruce Willis)
11.Twilight (featuring Ozzy Osbourne)
14.Banana Bunch (featuring Snoop Dog)

OK there is pretty much no way these three won't be totally horrific but the rest should yield some dece tracks.

http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/SvenHasselSchmuck/uncutinterview.jpg

"Some grizzled old piratey-looking guy"

".. Bruce Willis."

i guess a la dennis hopper doing a monologue.
at least i hope so.
not got much hope for this to be honest.
i think its easy to figure out why i loved the 1st and 2nd albums (the excess of jamie h art in the books/videos etc being the main pull for me).
i have read in recent times that jamie has been heard to say how he never wants to draw the characters again, so i'm a little concerned this new phase will have none of the same humour/inventiveness to make me reach for my wallet.
even the leaked album art looks, umm, nothing special (though its an early leak, so could easily change).
i (as do emi if they release this, as 'monkey' went to XL after some legal hiccup) hope i'm wrong ..

7.Pirate Ship (featuring Mark E Smith and Einar Örn Benediktsson)

Mark E Smith and Einar on the same song? This is either going to be genius, or something that you play loudly at parties to see who leaves

Well, hopefully both

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/audio/2009/nov/28/showing-off-damon-albarn

Yak about it there. It's Damon so it's *good* yak.

4.Stylo (featuring Bruce Willis)
The return of Bruno!

haha. brilliant.

really looking forward to hearing the barry gibb track. has he guested on any other albums recently?

Satan’s Burlesque (featuring the Horrors)

This is where I jumped over the side of the boat.

The Horrors are a very good band these days, live and on record

You might be right but in my head they're the goth Primal Scream so No Sale.

Is it bad that you might have just sold them to me as "the goth Primal Scream?"

hey, it's not a moral judgement, if that floats your boat

STYLO the single has l£ak£d. it's great.

ah, stylophones

It's good

What say you guys about "Stylo"?

full album version on the official site has an extra chunk of mos def at the start. http://www.gorillaz.com/

album cover artwork here: http://www.soulculture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/album_packshot.jpg
NME feature / interview right here: http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/5/12/2439970/2010-01-23%20NME_02.jpg

oh and .. no Bruce Willis, Barry Gibb OR The Horrors according to the official tracklist: http://www.nme.com/news/gorillaz/49341

Is that the album cover for real? It's really awful.

i could see it being part of a cool looking music video

No thoughts on the single?

It's good!

Yes, I concur. Looking forward to this, Demon Days was a very pleasant surprise.

Is Danger Mouse producing this one too?

i was wondering about this.
the promo machine so far has not mentioned his presence, and you'd think they would if he was still involved.

'Orchestral Intro'
'Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach' (feat. Snoop Dogg)
'White Flag (feat. Kano & Bashy)
'Rhinestone Eyes'
'Stylo' (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
'Superfast Jellyfish' (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
'Empire Ants' (feat. Little Dragon)
'Glitter Freeze' (feat. Mark E Smith)
'Some Kind Of Nature' (feat. Lou Reed)
'On Melancholy Hill'
'Broken'
'Sweepstakes' (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
'Plastic Beach' (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)
'To Binge' (feat. Little Dragon)
'Cloud Of Unknowing' (feat. Bobby Womack)
'Pirate Jet'

sounds just as fake as the other one tbh

to answer the question by chap, and me : album produced by damon.

http://www.gorillaz-unofficial.com/news/index.htm

Q magazine scans from their big 12 page splurge today/ this week.

the unofficial Gorillaz forum; reading and scanning Q so we don't have to.

a look around plastic beach

good grief charlie brown.
i almost expected the island to open up, and thunderbird 23 come roaring out.
still, all looks very interesting - and makes for a lot more fun than your usual pop band makeovers.

stylo is the bomb...heard it on the radio a couple days ago and almost shit my pants.

http://www.soulculture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/album_packshot.jpg

Gorillaz In The Myst

lol

dun dun DUNNNNNNN...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4UtbrbsrjY&feature=player_embedded

SFA OK, SFA OK. SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, SFA OK.

I really hated the leak of this album I procured last week, because it sounded like a load of crap dub remixes off Demon Days. Five minutes ago I discovered that the leak I have is a load of crap dub remixes off Demon Days.

Most successful fake leak ever.

can someone please send me these "crap dub remixes off demon days".
i like the sound of those.
ta.

most of those "crap dub remixes" are from the d-sides compilation.

the only other song i recognized from that fake leak was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvqOvBJrVvo

8 minute album mash-up: http://gorillaz.com/f/album-mix/

Rhinestone Eyes sounding like the OMG moment so far.

The whole 'fake advert jingle' thing @ the start of ..Jellyfish reminds me of the same thing Damon did in '93 on Advert. Only you know.. better.

or what the Who did over forty years ago throughout an entire album.

very excited for this album. loving the clips, stylo and superfast jellyfish.

lol total pwnage on the leak. and here I was thinking "wow, this new album is so stoned and they really they haven't changed their sound. good ol' Gorillaz...yo, where's Bruce Willis?"

Totally excited for this and glad to see some love around here, wasn't sure if there were too many fans of them anymore.

Someone's uploaded the NPR stream of the album, it's in 128K but it's out now.

after two listens, i like it. the highlight so far is "sweepstakes."

is it me or does damon really not have much of a vocal presence?

I've grown to really like this side-project. It's like Alvin and the Chipmunks produced by MOJO Magazine.

bruce willis : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs&feature=featured

they have pulled out all the stops for this the animation is brilliant
.. and, as i expected, the song has grown on me.

Womack kills

Womack sounds like God himself on this. His other track on the album is amazing too.

Surely no one would've guessed in 1998...

ah, turning to wikipedia answered my question for me:

In the November 2007 issue of Q magazine, when asked what his top priority for 2008 was, Damon Albarn replied "Well, I'm doing the next Gorillaz thing, but it won't be called Gorillaz.[1] In the February 2008 Gorillaz-Unofficial interview, Jamie Hewlett elaborated on this, saying "I think the idea behind it is that it's like how The Who presented their movies – Tommy and Quadrophenia and so on. Those were presented as by 'The Who' even though none of the members of the band were in the movies. I don't think anyone from The Who was in Quadrophenia. But it's the same people working on it, that's the principle."[3] In a July 2008 interview with The Observer he also said, "Gorillaz now to us is not like four animated characters any more — it's more like an organisation of people doing new projects. [...] That's my ideal model — Gorillaz is a group of people who gave you this, and now want to give you new stuff."

ok 'stylo' (song+video) is -awesome-

Seriously. I always think I'm just about over this whole project and they go and release another awesome single.

it's convincingly relentless, apocalyptic and *pumping*, and it builds like a motherfucker

first song i've heard from 2010

not very good, is it?

nor apocalyptic, etc.

Somebody pls explain the appeal of this on any level. You pick!

Umm, i like it because it sounds good to me i guess. I dig the little electro zaps in the beat, the repetition without becoming boring, the cool ascending tones before the choruses and then out of nowhere bobby womack! The sounds and vibe of Stylo seem reminiscent of hip-house or something i can totally see it droping into the intro of Snap's "the Power" anyway this is a fantastic album imo. especially the last 6 or so songs. "To Binge" stands out to me, with a great song over a backing of shiny Casio reggae-bossa presets. and the second womack song: "The Cloud of Unknowing" is incredible.

Guardian streaming the whole album
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/mar/01/gorillaz-plastic-beach

Great song, and that video = wow.

>they have pulled out all the stops for this the animation is brilliant

completely otm - I had no idea what they'd come back with, but this is superb.

so far so good, although MES track needed more MES

the highlight so far is "sweepstakes."

OTM

I like this far better than the last couple. It's way less busy, like they've been dipping into Massive Attack's weed stash.

shooting at a police officer in pursuit barely registers to me when it's cartoon monkeys behind the violence.

is Willis a cop?

no, the police officer who starts the pursuit.

what does ILM think of Plastic Beach? it comes out tomorrow and i have yet to hear it, love the single.

its very good.
as to be expected, i fell for the sucker punch and got the experience edition (full booklet/dvd/extra online gubbins).
not watched the dvd yet, but tis a lovely package.
like demon days, its going to take a few listens to all sink in, but for a mass appeal commerical release, i think the lads have excelled themselves.
as said earlier by float up, just when i think this project is all played out, they come back and just raise the level.

there's only one low-point: "some kind of nature" where lou reed pretty much phones it in (do we expect much else at this point?) and that song is followed-up by a rather the-good-the-bad-the-queen-sounding "on melancholy hill." those tracks being side-by-side like that, and working as the centrepiece of the album no less, really takes the groovy momentum out of the whole thing.

sure, albarn might sound better when he has a foil, like a dangermouse or a coxon, but his ear for picking collaborators is amazing. it's great to hear how each collaborator becomes a character in the gorillaz world; at this point it's virtually impossible to dissociate the guys in de la soul from who the gorillaz are.

There's nothing funnier than buying an album, you haven't heard yet in a record store and vibing to the awesome music they are playing in the checkout line while you're waiting, only to discover it's actually the album you have in your hands.

That just happened to me with this.

Empire Ants is bloody fabulous.

I think this gets off to a weak start but the stretch from Stylo to On Melancholy Hill is magnificent.

I don't think this is anywhere as good as the debut or Demon Days. Albarn produced the album himself and he acquits himself fine, he just doesn't have the same sense of space and texture that Danger Mouse (or Dan the Automator, with his sample-based stuff) has. It's not bad, though.

Honestly both of the first two albums took a looooong time to grow on me. I know I dismissed both of them (outside the singles) at one point, only to slowly finding myself really falling hard for the whole thing. I think Demon Days had, quite literally, a whole year period to sink in before I really loved it. These records have always been slow burners for me.

I think this one is even more cohesive than "Demon Days." Fewer standouts, but damn good.

Lol @ Snoop actually having a worthwhile guest spot, too.

i'm liking this much more then i thought i would.

The vocal melody of "Broken" really reminds me of some other song, but I can't place it- it's driving me crazy.

yes, i hear it too. what is that?

good god Lou Reed sounds like William Burroughs now

Have Gorillaz Ripped Off An Old Eddy Grant Song?

i hear the similarity, but i think it's sufficiently different not to be a ripoff.

personally, i think he's wishing on a prayer with this one.
hardly any similarity between the two tracks.
app. he tried the same thing with a track akira the don produced for lethal bizzle.

There's nothing funnier than buying an album, you haven't heard yet in a record store and vibing to the awesome music they are playing in the checkout line while you're waiting, only to discover it's actually the album you have in your hands.

You know what, for me that really puts me off.

I'd rather get it home or in the car without hearing it in the damn shop.

It doesn't even have to be 'never heard before', just "not in the shop I'm queueing in, plz"

This thing is great. Really like the Bashy & Kano track, which really surprised me.

^^^ this, only without the surprise because I had no expectations

pretty much every track on this has at least one amazing thing going on in it

a lot of amazingness is tied up in intrasong transitions, like the move from symphonic work to beat in "White Flag" and the transition into electro on "Empire Ants"

So true. A lot of my favourite Gorillaz moments come when a new vocalist enters (cf Womack on Stylo or Martina on All Alone)

Definitely the best Gorillaz album so far, and also the best thing Damon Albarn has done since "Blur" in 1997. Has there ever been a more stylistically varied selection of guest acts on one album?

someone's been listening to NaSa...

oh man that switch in ''empire ants'' made me hit the repeat button repeatedly on a car trip this weekend. love ''rhinestone eyes'', the track with MES, the one with lou reed (with a piano very reminiscent of cale's stuff on songs for drella)... ah there's a lot of awesome sounds and songs. also love love love the picture with murdoc holding a copy of hunky dory in a lifeboat in the cd booklet.

Yeah, love pretty much all of those tracks. But I really really wish they'd have given MES a little more room to do his thing.

i don't like the drums on this thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thkbZegMua8

"Superfast Jellyfish" makes me want for Damon Albarn and Gruff Rhys to do something more together. Would have been a brilliant duo.

I read somewhere that they met up quite some time ago to try and collaborate, but wound up getting pissed drunk instead.

Oh OK. These things happen. :)

Second half of "Empire Ants" is one of the tracks of the year.

Yukimi's voice is perfect in it too.

Rhinestone Eyes is my favorite.

that second half of empire ants IS awesome, but all too short so we made an extended edit of it, which you can hear here: http://soundcloud.com/clubclique

Excellent, but no dl? :(

cheers! here y'go

"The page cannot be found"!

for some weird reason the ? in the original url has been changed to %3F
try this though http://www.mediafire.com/?zloyfjnitdo

Awesome, thanks!

loving 'Empire Ants' generally

"Superfast Jellyfish" makes me want for Damon Albarn and Gruff Rhys to do something more together. Would have been a brilliant duo.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:39 PM (5 days ago)

rhys sounds so much like albarn on that track. does he always sound that way? i don't listen to SFA at all.

I sort of want half the tracks on here to go on for like 20 minutes

Superfast Jellyfish so great, I wish it was double the length

other favourites are Broken and To Binge - the Albarn-heavy ones wtf

Digging Rhinestone Eyes at the moment.

so many people on one stage to recreate such a stripped back simple song !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijHySaJQUEs

bloody good though.

Was that Mick Jones and Paul Simonon?

yup.

I thought it was Mick by his stance/skinnyness..

app. Melancholy Hill, To Binge and Superfast Jellyfish are to go out on the Friday edition.

mick-n-paul have been doing the live tour band for all the recent low key gorillaz shows from what i've heard.

Last time I saw Mick, it was at the Velvet Underground gig.

There. Name dropped spectacularly there.

Saw him in Marks & Sparks in Tottenham Court Road, and sort of followed him around surreptitiously, one of the only times i've ever been excited seeing a celeb in London

mick-n-paul have been doing the live tour band for all the recent low key gorillaz shows from what i've heard.

Low-key, no-profile gigs like Later With Jools, Colbert Report, Coachella...

Low key as in "They play as backup behind the cartoon representations"?

Or do they not do that anymore?

no they don't do the 'behind a screen' deal anymore.
they recently performed a few shows as a 'proper' band
- no visuals/no screens etc.
as a warm up to the coachella performance.
as far as i know, mick-n-paul were part of these shows.

Gorillaz will open up rehearsals to audiences around the UK ahead of their headline show at Coachella in April.

These are band rehearsals only – it will not feature full Gorillaz production.

Only subscribers to the Gorillaz fan club (G-Club) are eligible to buy tickets

The Dates:

21st March – Portsmouth Wedgwood
22nd March – Bristol Trinity
23rd March – Cambridge Junction
25th March – Brighton Old Market
26th March – Birmingham Irish Centre
27th March – Lincoln Engine Shed

The Demon Days tour didn't have a screen either*
Mick & Paul are properly in the live band for the foreseeable future, bless 'em

*though they sent "Gorillaz Sound System" with an "unprecedented 360° visual show" to Australia in late 2008. this turned out to be a drummer and two guys playing In Da Club and Smells Like Teen Spirit off CDJs to a crowd of 10,000 while the exact same slide projections showed on two screens at the front, and one at the back, of the room. it was horrible.

live show from roundhouse currently streaming on the bands site (mtv as well i think ?).
tis really good.
orchestras. brass bands. mos def. bobby w. etc etc.
the stage is bustin' loose with people.
but sounds fantastic.

New video for 'On melancholy hill' is great as usual. The 2d/3d blend between characters is a bit strange but manages to feel natural.

It seems they're trying to sell the video through itunes so youtube links are dead almost immediatly. Let's see for how long this holds out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhetD3jFlVc

I think there's cameos from every guest involved in the submarine scene though I don't recognize half of them.

who the fuck is daley, and how does he feel to have the cheapest ever looking (and sounding) gorillaz video ?

beginning to think its time to get off this train.

the new track is just dull dull dull.

Oh cool- didn't realize this album was still producing singles

lol nm. Non album single

next stage app. is a new album all done on US tour and written/made on damons ipad.

already dreading the advertising campaign.

the team up with the times was an indicator that things were going off the rails - not to mention the sheer crapness of the website these days.

So am I the only person who liked this? Maybe unduly influenced by the cute singer, but still.

Definitely not the cheapest video, at least it's not this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5ExhHxXuDU

i would suggest that the snoop video is not really a video per se, as welcome .. was not released as a single.
that video is used for the live tour visuals as snoop cant tour with the band, so they project this while the live band play along.

Cheap video is a minor problem compared to the fact that bits of it sound like "Dancing in the Moonlight"

from that Magic For Your Ears website and http://thefall.gorillaz.com/

http://thefall.gorillaz.com/img/the_fall.jpg

This is the new Gorillaz album created by Damon Albarn on his iPad as he toured the U.S. It will be released for free on Christmas Day.

In an interview on Australia’s Triple J radio, Damon Albarn confirmed that the forthcoming Gorillaz iPad album is called The Fall and is indeed due out for free on Christmas Day. (Via Some Kind of Awesome.) The record was recorded while Albarn was on tour in America in October, hence the autumnal title. And while a few non-iPad sounds were added to the LP, the bulk of it was indeed made using Apple’s famed slab computer.

Tracklist:

01. Phoner To Arizona
Recorded in Montreal on 3rd October
02. Revolving Doors
Recorded in Boston on 5th October
03. HillBilly Man
Recorded in New Jersey and Virginia on 10th and 11th October
Additional Guitar: Mick Jones
04. Detroit
Recorded in Detroit on 13th October
05. Shy-town
Recorded in Chicago on 15th October
06. Little Pink Plastic Bags
Recorded in Chicago on 16th October
Additional Keyboards: Jesse Hackett
07. The Joplin Spider
Recorded in Joplin on 18th October
Additional conversations with: Darren ‘Smoggy’ Evans
08. The Parish of Space Dust
Recorded in Houston on 19th October
09. The Snake In Dallas
Recorded in Dallas on 20th October
10. Amarillo
Recorded in Amarillo on 23rd October
11. The Speak It Mountains
Recorded in Denver on 24th October
Stream and forest recorded in Santa Fe on 25th October by Mike Smith
12. Aspen Forest
Recorded in Santa Fe on 25th October and in Vancouver on 3rd November
Additional Bass: Paul Simonon
Additional Qanun: James R Grippo
13. Bobby In Phoenix
Recorded in Phoenix on 26th October
Vocals and Guitar: Bobby Womack
14. California And The Slipping Of The Sun
Recorded in Oakland on 30th October
Train station announcement recorded at LA Train Station. Additional conversation with: Darren ‘Smoggy’ Evans, Mick Jones, Jamie Hewlett and Tanyel Vahdettin.
15. Seattle Yodel
Recorded in Seattle on 2nd November
Featuring the Archie McPhee Yodelling Pickle. Copyright 2008 Archie McPhee and Company

Additional Info:

iPad Applications Used: Speak It! / SoundyThingie / Mugician / Solo Synth / Synth / Funk Box / Gliss / AmpliTube / Xenon / iElectribe / BS-16i / M3000 HD / Cleartune / iOrgel HD / Olsynth / StudioMiniXI / BassLine / Harmonizer / Dub Siren Pro / Moog Filatron

agggggggggggggggggggh fuck you albarn

unless this is part of a name-swap deal that results in an 8-track Room To Live style takedown of your faltering artistic integrity

Verdict?

People on reddit seem to like it:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/er3vx/gorillaz_the_fall/

They also think muse and sigur ros are mindblowing so take it with a pinch of salt.

are any tracks immediately hook-y (like empire ants/stylo)?

i thought abt downloading this last night and got bored following the appropriate links lol

so far this doesn't sound like it was made on an ipad but it also doesn't sound good

wake me up when there's a download for this, not fifteen individual streams

kinda pointless to wake you up for something that's gonna put you to sleep

go to bed, sic

The Fall Asleep

Probably won't be arsed with this, I couldn't really get into Plastic Beach. Still love Demon Days though.

This is mostly noodly instrumentals, but there are a few tracks worth hearing. My favorites after one listen are the one featuring Bobby Womack ("Bobby in Phoenix") and "The Parish of Space Dust", which incorporates samples of Texas-area radio and news reports and really nails a isolated road-trip vibe.

Revolving Doors is brilliant. the rest's pretty much wanky waffle. a few nice bits here and there but really how is this anything other than another 'DemoCrazy' style Damon solo album? most of it sounds like blur '13' era cast offs or Good, Bad and The Queen instrumentals.

sounds like a very rich man, bored and stoned in a hotel room, gazing out at a sunset and prodding away at an Apple gadget. or like a soundtrack to the next terrible Sofia Coppola movie.

Read more: http://www.popjustice.com/forum/index.php?topic=26560.0#ixzz19KBlZJKO

nice update of 'Time Becomes' by Orbital on 'The Speak It Mountains' mind.

i wonder did he have to pay for that sample of Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman that pops up suddenly?!

if for nothing else, this gorillaz project is worthwhile for inspiring the term "wanky waffle."

really how is this anything other than another 'DemoCrazy' style Damon solo album?

is it really pretending to be much other than that, though? it's a free stream posted online for fans. sure, most of the tunes are slight sketches, but i enjoy 'em as such.

anyway i agree that "Revolving Doors" is the best thing here. also liked one of the slower numbers toward the end -- "Amarillo" i think?

mm well i mean it's no big deal or owt but it's advertised all over the world and such as a Gorillaz album, which is only available to get a copy of if you've registered as a paid up member of the Gorillaz fan club. so yeah it's meant to be a Gorillaz album free stream or otherwise.

i just think he sounds knackered. there's some great bits here and there, but he's basically turned into Mccartney circa 78.

yeah, that's fair enough. i have a fondness for mid-period mccartney the stoned noodler too, so that may explain why i don't mind this :)

but really how is this anything other than another 'DemoCrazy' style Damon solo album?

in the Australian radio interview/acoustic session where he confirmed the album and announced the title, he specifically said it's another DemoCrazy made on hi-tech instead of low-tech, and with other people joining in

Enjoying The Fall far more than Plastic Beach.

well they're a much better band

hereallweek.wav

oops i posted on the wrong thread

plastic beach is so good! i need the biggest late pass ever

gonna go get stoned and listen to rhinestone eyes x10

Otm

yeah damn this is really good, i never paid that much attn to the gorillaz

rhinestone eyes is so brilliant. is it a send-up of/tribute to vacant-sounding club tracks from the early 80s? lyrically too. those few and far between times when he actually sings for a few notes in between the talky bits are really thrilling.

probably listened to it 20 times today. my mom is right, i need to start paying attn to what's going on in the world

literally can't stop myself from dancing at the bus stop when empire ants goes big

Remember when Damon Albarn hired half of The Clash for his touring band and gave them precisely nothing to do? That was pretty funny.

Lol! he just likes to hang out with people sometimes I think.

when I saw them on snl with that lineup I remember thinking that they were doing exactly nothing. "hired for touring band" is a little disingenuous tho cause they did play/sing/write on the album right?

Well, it's pretty much "let's tour with some interesting people in the band" for Damon's amusement, yeah?

So, has Jaime's involvement dwindled since the days of Noodle etc?

def

.. and they are back ..

here is the basic non-3d, censored version of the new track.
(the 3d version on youtube is a bit naughty)

fact is i hated the recent quick release track a few weeks ago, but i am loving this.

also, looks like the record label (is it still EMI as i have lost track?) have actually invested this time in the visuals.

despite myself, i really like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qJp6xlKEug

BTW : tried to start a new thread re this so many times but ILX errored no matter what i tried !

so did not expect this post to go live ..

but hey.

ooh .. and remember how 'plastic beach' was all about the excess of packaging shyte, well :

"The Super Deluxe Vinyl Box Set of the new Gorillaz album Humanz is presented across 14 individual pieces of different coloured 12”� vinyl, packaged in individually art-worked sleeves. Each piece of vinyl features an album track, backed with an exclusive alternative version.

The box also includes a 54-page, cloth-bound, foil-blocked, hardback book featuring exclusive Gorillaz artwork by Jamie Hewlett plus a download card, all housed in a bespoke 12”� vinyl case.
"

amazing

jfc

destroy all bespokesters

still, i really want the book.

bastards.

at least they're making an effort of trying to pretend it's an ongoing multimedia project with the book? that's kind of the original pitch

no idea re the vinyl excess groove as described as that detail was provided from someone within.

clearly not part of the usual packages available.

also, seriously not happy that the nu-era murdoc = liam

no idea re size :

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8212065/17492331_10155193725362996_8893933597962460000_o.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W44NWYwa1g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSivlaSVk1k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBA0PUQCvIA

is this the all-purpose Gorillaz thread? i like all these new ones, although it's a shame Jehnny Beth is buried in the mix on We Got The Power. 'Saturnz..' is tasty.

It's amazing to think that Damon has been doing Gorillaz for nearly 20 years now.

Sadly, it is probably his best non-Blur project. It's been all a bit of a waste really

Actually, the three or four keepers from The Good The Bad And The Queen probably surpass Gorillaz's highlights

Slim pickings though

Yeah, I didn't rate his solo album at all, and I think I've listened to The Good, The Bad & The Queen roughly a handful of times but I keep reaching the same conclusion every time with it, and that's that it's a bit of a drab record.

I fucking love the title track, though! I always wish it could go on for a little longer.

Yeah that and Herculean are lovely

this is... not great

i didn't like Plastic Beach much st the time but listening back i was pleasantly surprised, especially compared to the new stuff i've heard so far.

when was the last classic or even decent Albarn-affiliated album? last Blur sucked, solo album was pretty forgettable.

i liked plastic beach & think tank

i actually think i preferred D-sides to Plastic Beach.
as for this .. too guest heavy for me.
i have never been one for guest heavy albums.

Strobelite's a tuuuune.

Listening to Humanz again now and it's not like its without its highlights or anything, but I can't shake the feeling that Albarn fell off after Demon Days (his last true masterpiece) and never really got it back.

a friend gave me a vinyl copy and it's... ok. sex murder party is really bad though.

Both this and Plastic Beach suffer from too many guests - particularly the former, which seems like an exercise in "look at who I'm working with" from front to back.

wasn't that always the gimmick w gorillaz? (full disclosure I have never actually listened to a gorillaz album before this one)

new track, "sleeping powder", is better than anything on humanz.

the album is just too busy trying to impress with the guest list.

i watched a chunk of the demon dayz festival thing last night,
and the damon fronted tracks were absolutely fantastic,
thus making me realise what it is re humanz that i dont really like.

Yeah, but Albarn was always the boss of the project and it was his identity that was most dominant on Gorillaz and Demon Days, no matter who he was collaborating with - on Humanz, bar a couple of tracks, Albarn sounds like a guest on his own record.

(xpost)

exactly.

x-x-post.

also, the earlier albums had a lovely fat warm live band sound (albeit produced to a high standard).
a lot of the production on humanz = laptop/thin sounding.
yes, there are the modern sonic bass sounds to give it the impression of depth, but it still sounds thin to me.

Yeah, now that you mention it, there does seem to be something "cheap" sounding about portions of not only Humanz, but Plastic Beach too, which is something I could never have said about Demon Days ...

it definitely started with PB,
and then hit hard on the demo album, sorry, the fall.
and now has become the new sound.
damon no longer uses certain studio crew anymore eg cass browne for drums/studio stuff (look at credits - cass was massively involved on the early material), and i think this has massively changed the sound.
watch the gig via red bull concert,
and it becomes a lot more apparent the difference in sound between the first albums/b-sides, and the new stuff.

ps. "early albums" include the G-sides/D-sides stuff as well if you ask me.
some great tracks on those collections.

Turrican OTM - Demon Days is great. That and good, the bad and the queen are the last Albarn projects I rate

The Good, The Bad & The Queen has some good stuff on it - the title track, for example - but I find it a bit of a slog on the whole.

Plastic Beach is his last good album, there's plenty of great stuff on there like Stylo, Empire Ants and On Melancholy Hill, though it's not as good as Demon Days. It was the start of those cheap-sounding synths/drum machines though which were ok there but awful on Humanz.

Yeah, I like Plastic Beach a lot, especially the songs you mention ufo. Empire Ants is the best Damon related song since the good bits on Think Tank.

I'm listening to the debut now for the first time in years and it's really not funny how much more fresh it sounds compared to Humanz, particularly since I considered it a bit of a throwaway album back in 2001 and later merely a warm-up for Demon Days.

new album announced.
not a single ripple on ILM.
me included.
not sure I can be bothered anymore,
though I have heard it could a lot less guest heavy, in which case, I may become slightly more interested.

If Albarn is to move forward with Gorillaz, he's got to stop sounding like a guest on his own records.

exactly.
as was said last time we did this.
also, the whole 'Murdoch not on this album' thing.
who cares now re the whole 'story' re the band now ?

Not me. At this point I'd rather Albarn would knuckle down and make another great record - I think Demon Days was actually his last truly great one, and that was 13 years ago now!

Here are the two songs that have been released which I am quite digging:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5yFcdPAGv0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68JpPpSc7bs

And here's the Tracklist:

1 “Humility” (Feat. George Benson)
2 “Tranz”
3 “Hollywood” (Feat. Snoop Dogg & Jamie Principle)
4 “Kansas”
5 “Sorcererz”
6 “Idaho”
7 “Lake Zurich”
8 “Magic City”
9 “Fire Flies”
10 “One Percent”
11 “Souk Eye”

Only two of the songs feature guest, and in the case of George Benson that guest is purely instrumental. The album is being produced by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco and Remi Kabaka Jr.

Of course the reason I like these is that they remind me more of Plastic Beach, which has been my favorite Gorillaz album.

so this is like 'the fall' then.
first track is quite lovely.
the second, is a demo track that does little for me.

also, the whole 'Murdoch not on this album' thing.
who cares now re the whole 'story' re the band now ?

ppl who follow the story will think this is fun, people who don't will have no idea about it. idg the objection?

Turrican otm re demon days

ppl who follow the story will think this is fun, people who don't will have no idea about it. idg the objection?

fair enough.
I was told earlier by one of the bands inner circle I was being overly cynical during a chat re the albums details.
so you are not alone sic in telling me off.

Are the 'band' actually ageing?

No guests on this one or very few, so more like The Fall (the free Christmas Day 2010 Damon-on-his-iPad album, not as in '..plus your granny on bongos').

Humility is nice enough, probably the best thing Albarn has done since Plastic Beach

Are the 'band' actually ageing?

Yes, Noodle is a tall girl now.

I thought Murdoc was showing his age by balding, but apparently, he's still in jail and the balding green dude is his replacement, Ace, a former Powerpuff girls villan. http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/gorillaz-recruit-powerpuff-girls-character-watch-their-new-video-starring-jack-black

I do kind of like the idea of Murdoc being replaced by another pre-existing cartoon character. It's like when John Frusciante was replaced with Dave Navarro.

^^ amazing post

The new LP isn't all that bad. It's nowhere near the level of Demon Days, but at least Albarn's presence is more noticeable on this one! 'Tranz' is my favourite Gorillaz track in ages.

This has the most repeat play value since Demon Days for me by a long shot (admittedly that wouldn't take very much), only a few days in. Loads of top notch Albarn on here

revive inspires me to hear this. demon days was my last fave

Album is incredible. Love the spaghetti western song Idaho

New record rules

rhinestone eyes is the best gorillaz song

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2020/09/09/robert-smith-gorillaz-strange-timez/

Gorillaz - Strange Timez ft. Robert Smith (Episode Six):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbA5p54Rw2M

ILM doesn’t talk much about Gorillaz. They frequently misuse collaborators but I’m very interested in some of the guests in this one. Elton John + 6lack in the same track sounds ridiculous but I love that combo. I think the Goldlink + UMO and JPEG + Chai tracks might be good but cautious as to why they got sent to the Deluxe / bonus tracks version of the album.

Full tracklist:
1.) "Strange Timez" (featuring Robert Smith)
2.) "The Valley of the Pagans" (featuring Beck)
3.) "The Lost Chord" (featuring Leee John)
4.) "PAC-MAN" (featuring ScHoolboy Q)
5.) "Chalk Tablet Towers" (featuring St. Vincent)
6.) "The Pink Phantom" (featuring Elton John & 6LACK)
7.) "Aries" (featuring Peter Hook & Georgia)
8.) "Friday 13th" (featuring Octavian)
9.) "Dead Butterflies" (featuring Kano & Rosani Arias)
10.) "Désolé [Extended Version]" (featuring Fatoumata Diawara)
11.) "Momentary Bliss" (featuring slowthai & SLAVES)

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks:
12.) "Opium" (featuring EARTHGANG)
13.) "Simplicity" (featuring Joan As Police Woman)
14.) "Severed Head" (featuring Goldlink & Unknown Mortal Orchestra)
15.) "With Love to An Ex" (featuring Moonchild Sanelly)
16.) "MLS" (featuring JPEGMAFIA & CHAI)
17.) "How Far?" (featuring Tony Allen & Skepta)

honestly I think damon has just kinda lost it as both a producer and melodist

the last damon album that was at all worthwhile was plastic beach and that was still pretty inconsistent

Merrie Land had some good moments

wait hold up what feat who

I was wondering why you hadn't said anything yet!

Have to say I’m most intrigued by the Leee John collaboration.

the what featuring who song, with a million views in 24 hours:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbA5p54Rw2Me

Hm.

https://youtu.be/bbA5p54Rw2M

you think robert would've sang on the song if he knew the word "times" would be spelled with an irreverent "z" at the end?

2 Late to change his mind now

Four "different" cassette editions?

So this is out now and while I wasn’t a fan of how they handled half of the features in past efforts, I feel they nail it this time around, they manage to adjust to the style of the guests while being consistent as a whole album.

Album*

I thought Plastic Beach did that pretty well, true respect for anyone who can "feat." Lou Reed, MES and De La Soul without losing their footing.

surprised that this seems to be getting a fairly positive response after the last few records were pretty dire

yeah this is actually pretty good. it's nothing spectacular but much much better than their last few and the most i've enjoyed any albarn project in a long long time, probably since demon days? i agree with moka that the guests feel integrated into the whole much better than usual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Pf48RqSsg

Gorillaz by the numbers but like hearing a new song from Damon Albarn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDX6l9_58RA
^^intro made me smile

Yeah just found out about that one. No idea how I’ve never seen that piece of trivia before. Having one of your most popular songs built pretty much completely around a cheap synth preset is awesome.

Damon weirdly amicable on this interview too, almost every interview I’ve seen of him he looks like he’s hungover and would rather be anywhere else.

Really surprised by how much I like this new one, I dig the melancholy vibe through most of it. That last one had higher peaks, but this might be my favorite front to back Gorillaz since Plastic Beach (which I guess isn't saying much considering how blah I've found most of them to be).

YSI?

lol