GORILLAZ

As excited as I was to find out this album was in the works, any previous anticipation pales in comparison to what I felt when I actually got to hear Gorillaz. Like the Voltron Lions, the components of this group come together to form something incredible. The auditory dreamteam is comprised of Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, Damon Albarn (Blur), Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto, Butter 08), and Del The Funky Homosapien. Like that’s not enough, it also features the vocal stylings of world-renowned Cuban singer, Ibrahim Ferrer (Buena Vista Social Club) and Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club). The result is a synth, hip-hop, dub, latin, rock extravaganza. The Gorillaz crew’s self-titled LP hits the ground running and covers more ground than a 10-year-old Honda Civic. “Re-Hash” rocks you with its sweet sensation bass-beat, while “Man Research (Clapper)” frightens and grooves with its dirge-like, Brian Eno insistence. “Latin Simone” curls you into a ball with its foreign mystique, just so “M1 A1” can yank you up like something straight from The Blues Explosion. Despite all the stylistic influences present, Gorillaz manages to maintain a uniquely uniform sound that my roommate put best as, “creepy.” The whole album boils over with a cohesive fury akin to UNKLE’s Psyence Fiction and The Handsome Boy Modeling School’s So,..How’s Your Girl? People always say, “Too many chefs spoil the broth,” but this is one case where that shit definitely does not apply.