Plastic Beach: Can you really call this a Gorillaz Album?
by Michael
I know I am super late with this (over 2 months), but I feel like something has to be said.
Like every teenager from the ’90s, I really loved the Gorillaz, the albums “Gorillaz” and “Demon Days” were on heavy rotation when me and my other super white friends hung out, and I always loved the fact that despite the fact that since the band is fictional, Damon Albarn could do whatever he wanted, he mixed hip-hop, rock, electronica, and whatever else he wanted to throw in, and it worked. Still, even though they had such diverse sounds, you could always tell a song was a Gorillaz song.
Knowing that, the question that has to be asked about their newest album “Plastic Beach” is “Can you call this a Gorillaz album?”
I have discussed the album with different people all who have different overall tastes in music, and all we can say about the album is “It’s different.” It doesn’t feel like a Gorillaz album, it’s too mellow, relies way too much on synth, and it lacks the soul of the other two Gorillaz albums.
As much as we all agree that it isn’t a Gorillaz album, the consensus also remains that it’s a great album and should be praised. I personally love “On Melancholy Hill” and “Rhinestone Eyes,” but they aren’t Gorillaz songs. So, I propose that all the internet stop referring to this as a Gorillaz album, and instead simply call it what it is “Damon Albarn and Friends.” It should still get all its accolades, and nobody should dismiss the album as bad, but at the same time, we can’t keep lying and calling it what it is not.
