Album Review: Gorillaz- Cracker Island

Did anyone expect Gorillaz to have the career they have had? The debut album came out in 2001. Blur may have been heroes of Britpop, but that movement never gained much traction in the United States. Not that it was anything to be embarrassed of, but Blur was a mid tier band in America So I doubt anyone could expect Gorillaz to be Damon Albarn’s legacy. As compact discs changed to streaming and the music industry becoming highly fragmented- Gorillaz somehow has thrived. There are very few rock bands that get as much attention as this “cartoon” one. It’s really hard to think of many bands that currently exist with as much in terms of sales and airplay and critical acclaim and attention. It’s pop, it’s rock, it’s alternative. The bands second album 2005s Demon Days is probably where the legacy begins. That legacy begins not only with “Feel Good Inc” which was a smash hit, but with an album that sets up a template of this musical menagerie full of rock n roll animals (if you will, stay tuned) and sounds. While Ibrahim Ferrer and the Tom Tom Club played on tracks on the debut. Demon Days starts to resemble a soundtrack. There’s Shaun Ryder, De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Ike Turner, Roots Manuva and even Dennis Hopper among others While Demon Days is clearly the bands high watermark to date, I am a big fan of the third album 2010s Plastic Beach and it’s improbable lineup of galactic talent- Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, Mark E Smith, Mos Def, Gruff Rhys, Mick Jones & Paul Simonon and Snoop Dogg Since then, Gorillaz has leaned into one genre or another. 2017s Humanz is largely funk, hip hop and R&B with guests like Mavis Staples, Grace Jones, Pusha T, Vince Staples and Anthony Hamilton. In 2020, it was more new wave and rock sounds like Peter Hook of New Order, Robert Smith of the Cure, Beck, St Vincent and Elton John for the first part of Song Machine, while the second half had Earthgang, Skepta and Goldlink featured alongside artists like Chai and Joan as Police Woman Cracker Island largely succeeds because it doesn’t particularly try to be as ambitious or scattershot or genre schizophrenic as some recent work It generally feels like a sequenced albums. Clearly helped by the anchor of two great singles “Skinny Ape” and “Silent Running” and a killer opener and solid closer “Possession Island”. Not that it isn’t an all star lineup with Stevie Nicks, Bad Bunny, Tame Impala, Thundercat, Beck and Bootie Brown from the Pharcyde, but it always feels like a Gorillaz album with the star names generally playing supporting roles In a year where I have largely been listening to old favorites instead of new releases, Cracker Island has been a nice surprise (Note: I generally try not to read other reviews of a record until after I wrote mine. I have now read the Guardian’s review which makes mine feel like a cheap carbon copy. I guess that means this album does give off particular vibes I also read Pitchfork which gave it a 6.5 which proves my Theory that 6.5 is the sweet spot for Pitchfork reviews. Under that probably is deserving, but their 8, 9 and 10s are generally given to those “critics darlings” that Pitchfork will quickly discard by the wayside as the same artist makes the tragic mistake of making a third album or turning Thirty.)