Gorillaz Album: “Gorillaz”

I'm leaning against the wall of the bathroom wondering if I'm gonna throw up.

It's too much.

In order to write this little review I tried to grapple with this album, I tried to swallow it whole. I tried to digest it and I hurt myself. This album is too rich and too multidepthed to allow a simple synopsis. It's too complex to digest quickly. There are too many styles and too many layers. This is a dizzying collection of endless experimentation and surgically brilliant production. And it won't stop.

It's sheik and smooth like the models on the covers of magazines you don't buy but can't help staring at. It's funny too. It's funny in a covert coy way. Like a kid's tv show that secretly pokes fun at adult themes like sex and politics. It's funny enough to make you laugh. But just as your chest swells for a little cute giggle you catch the charred death scent of a cigarette and you can almost taste the burn of cheap whisky in the back of your throat: That's the dark brooding shadows this album casts as you spin it so idly.

And that's why my stomach and mind threaten to rebel (and expel.) How can you devour something with such a range of tastes? You can't eat something salty and sour, spicy and sweat, hot and cold... Maybe a few of these combinations are delectable but the whole array? It'd kill you... you'd choke...

Thank god the album doesn't force its schizophrenic characteristics on you all at once.

Instead the Gorillaz deliver these tastes in subtle sly hints and nudges. And most people would be utterly ignorant of the Band's brilliance if they did not provide the LP with multiple listens. It requires slow and careful consumption. Take your time. Don't try to stuff your face. You'll hardly know what your eating and surely be left uneasy.

Let your mind nibble on the acoustic guitars driving delicately before you tackle the pounding funky bass lines. And only then try to sample the electronic pops and pings. And if you can stomach all that and still keep your composure while adding the synth enhanced atmosphere of the keyboards ONLY THEN try to attack the vocal diversity that this album radiates with.

And if you can manage all that, go ahead and try the next song- cause its nothing like the last.

Underground hip hop savvy moments bob and nod beside blues and rock elements. All of which seem content to share elbow space with electronic and dub theatrics. Pop cues abound in clever debuts threatening cheapen the albums depth- but they are a ploy. They are lures for the unwary, daring you to grow complacent and assume your hearing something you've heard before. BUT these touches are a tease- almost like the masterminds of this album want to remind you that they COULD make hopelessly hip and catchy songs like "Clint Eastwood" all day, but then you'd miss the noir hauntings that inhabit the album's seedy underbelly in tracks like "New Genious (Brother)".

The Gorillaz's S/T first release screams and croons and beeps and blurts. It hums and bumps, drives and thunders. It is inspired and eons ahead of its time. This album either came from the future or is a masterpiece that will help shape the future.

Me? I'm out of the bathroom and adhered to my headphones. Don't be a fool. Take your time, drink plenty of water and enjoy one of the best albums of 2001, one bite at a time.

This cd is a must have. sure they're just a cartoon band, and don't really exsist, that doesn't stopp there music from bein great.the clean version isn'treally any different form the original except that some words are bleeped out.it's espically good 4 me cuz my parents are a little strictt about what i listen too. but they have no problem with this at all!there songs r fuuny and are very cool!!!! it's my favorite cd of all time!

I, like most of the other reviewers was introduced to Gorillaz by the "Clint Eastwood" video on MTV. I knew this was not your ordinary trip-hop combo right away and thought that I could hear something familiar. On a whim, I bought it and was suprised that Damon from Blur was involved (as you can tell by my user name, I was gleeful to say the least). The added bonus was Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto) with her familiar sampling skills and quirky, if not charming voice. This CD is packed with every combination of music you can think of ! It has everything that a Cibo Matto and Blur fan could hope for, incredible lo-fi sound with brilliant synth samples! I have listened to it non-stop since I bought it and I am constantly hearing different nuances and suprises! I am not familiar with Da Funky Homosapien, but now inclined to explore that territory!

It is difficult to pick one track over the other but with if you like experimental blending of all types of music, such as Beck, wry wit, samples you have never heard and what I consider an intelligent style of rapping (a la Beastie Boys) this CD has your name written all over it!

My one piece of advice is that you don't buy it solely on the "Clint Eastwood" track, it gives a slightly skewed perspective on the rest of the CD. If you are looking for more songs like that you may be dissapointed.

This is perhaps the most exciting CD I have purchased in a couple of years. The entire package is fabulous and creative including the "cartoon band" with thier alter egos. I hope for more collaborations soon. Be sure and check out he website as well, that is full of many suprises!

Cheers!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this will be one of the best albums of the year. This is an album not getting much airtime, but I hope it will with some time. When I heard Gorillaz, I had the same feeling when I first heard Beck's Odelay. Refreshing excitement. The music on Gorillaz blends various forms of music (hip hop, jazz, country, punk, rock, melodic pop.) You'll find bits and pieces of such music in all the songs.

The concept is also great. The group, made up of talented musicians, undergo the identity of Gorillaz, an animated group. It gives people like Damon Albarn of Blur and others, the freedom to go out and produce some new sounding music that is very welcome in today's formulaic market.

Take a listen for Clint Eastwood, the single that's circulating the States currently. It's a great song, but don't think that the whole album will sound like some pop/hip hop tune. You'll find a good mix of all sorts of music nearly in every song providing a nice blend for all tastes out there. If you're looking for a new sound that fuses all the great kind of music out there, give Gorillaz a listen.

I was honestly surprised at how many people don't like Gorillaz (It's just Gorillaz, not THE Gorillaz, get it right...) They obvoously can't appreciate the utter originality of this WHOLE album. Every song is different and more and more brilliant. Great beats and lyrics. I'm not even a rap or "hip hop" fan. I bought this CD because i heard one song on it and it's the best purchase I could have made. Worth every penny!