Cartoons are a part of everyones childhood, from Smurfs to Snorks to Spongebob.So naturally a bunch of animated goons fronted by former
Blur voice Damon Albarn would appeal to a generation of alternative rock loving adults, even if they tend towards genre blending and songs about cowboys. Since their inception,
Gorillaz have received a Grammy, gone double platinum in the UK, even nailed a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records (for most successful virtual band). And although Albarn pens operettas about monkeys in his free time, he claims the bands forthcoming
Plastic Beach is going to be a decidedly pop affair. First single "Stylo" seems to back up that claim.
"Stylo" is a Vice City sounding romp, which definitely ties in with the current trend of
Odd Bloods and other synthetic albums trouncing the art-drum rhetoric of the later aughts. But if we know Gorillaz, this is just one of the kaleidescope of sounds to expect on
Plastic Beach. The track features Mos Def and Bobby Womack, which is cool, and that's only the tip of the iceberg of guest stars on the record. This includes Snoop Dogg, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Kano, Bashy, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Mark E. Smith, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, sinfonia ViVA and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music. Full tracklist below.
Plastic Beach is out 3/9 in the US.
Tracklist for Plastic Beach
1. Orchestral Intro
2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3. White Flag (feat. Kano and Bashy)
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
6. Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
7. Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)
8. Glitter Freeze (feat. Mark E Smith)
9. Some Kind Of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes (feat. Mos Def and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. Plastic Beach (feat. Mick Jones and Paul Simonon)
14. To Binge (feat. Little Dragon)
15. Cloud Of Unknowing (feat. Bobby Womack)
16. Pirate Jet
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MP3: Gorillaz - "Stylo" (Plastic Beach)
Gorillaz on Myspace