Plastic Beach, the latest Gorillaz album, is in many ways the ultimate Gorillaz album. Let me explain.
The virtual band, brainchild of former Blur frontman Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, is the result of collaborations of an array of different musicians. Consequently, it always has been a group with a sound that can change dramatically from song to song and even more so from album to album.
The album also benefits from the handiwork of producer Albarn, who went out of his way to bring together a staggeringly diverse supporting cast. Thus, we get an album that truly is difficult to generically classify in any way other than placing it in the enigmatic "alternative" category. It opens with an orchestral prelude from sinfonia ViVA Viva before rolling straight into a track that features the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Snoop Dogg - making for an unlikely but well-matched pairing.
That first one-two really sets the tone for the rest of the album. You might not even realize that many of the songs are "by" Gorillaz if their name was not listed as the artist. In fact, the album started life under the title Carousel, which was originally intended to have involved additional artists performing in major roles and therefore would not have been labeled as "by" the Gorillaz, but "presented by" the group instead.
The original concept's fingerprints are all over the album, meaning the producer did not seem to completely dominate the sound. For instance, Albarn's vocals are not present on a large portion of "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach." In "The Cloud of Unknowing," he wisely steps aside and allows Bobby Womack to croon about another beautiful sinfonia ViVA piece. The resulting song feels hauntingly lonely, and the emotion rings clear.
That is not to say the tracks with Albarn's vocals are bad. "On Melancholy Hill" features Albarn alone and is unquestionably a highlight of the album. The song is a blue four minutes still somehow catchy enough to get stuck in your phonological loop. You will find yourself revisiting the downtrodden song, again and again.
This also is not an album devoid of the alt-rap that made Demon Days, Gorillaz's last album, such a success. "Feel Good Inc." collaborators De La Soul are back in force on "Superfast Jellyfish," mocking our fast-food lifestyles and the popular music industry in one very enjoyable swoop. The amusing pun, "Wrappers of many bite sizes," comes in early, inviting the dual interpretations of the song and the rest of the album, as well.
It is a hefty album - one worthy of multiple listens, and attentive ones at that. Plastic Beach may not produce any overwhelmingly popular singles like its two predecessors did, but Albarn did not produce this album for those looking for a quick musical fix. It still is mostly accessible pop music, but with depth and resonance. Plastic Beach certainly indicates that there is more to this two-dimensional band than first meets the eye.
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