Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

It's been a while since the last Gorillaz album, but Damon Albarn hasn't lost the touch. He pretty much produced this one on his own, and the project didn't start out as a Gorillaz thing, but it still fits the "band"'s sound for the most part. It's not totally similar, but the general feel is close enough to maintain the feel of the world's best fake band. Instrumentally, there's a stronger focus on orchestral elements and trip-hop/electronic sounds instead of more diverse instrumentation, and Damon doesn't sing quite as much, with quite a few guests appearing, especially in the first half, from rappers like Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, and the members of De La Soul to older singers like Lou Reed and Bobby Womack. Not every guest makes a great contribution, but enough of them hit to keep the diversity welcome.

I'd say this disc is somewhere in between the first two Gorillaz albums, maybe not in sound but in consistency. Their debut had some outstanding moments and really good songs, although parts were less interesting and sort of dull. Demon Days on the other hand, might not have quite reached the same heights in a lot of places, but is more enjoyable throughout the entire running time. Plastic Beach has a couple of clunkers, but generally matches or comes near to matching the strengths of both albums. I might call it my favorite Gorillaz release, although that opinion could easily change again. It's a bit front-loaded with awesome songs like "Rhinestone Eyes", "Stylo", and "Empire Ants", though there's good stuff in the back half too, like "Broken" and "Cloud of Unknowing". I don't really know what the future holds for this project, but I hope it involves more music before the year 2015.