0

What makes

so unique?

An essay created by Essasetic

 Contents:

Introduction – Pages 1-3

Chapter 1 – The band’s real history:

Chapter 1:1 Gorillaz – Pages 4-8
Chapter 1:2 Demon Days – Pages 9-13
Chapter 1:3 Plastic Beach – Pages 14-18
Chapter 1:4 The Fall – Pages 19-23
Chapter 1:5 Humanz – Pages 24-31
Chapter 1:6 The Now Now & Beyond – Pages 32-35

Chapter 2 – The band’s canonical history:

Chapter 2:1 Celebrity Takedown - Pages 36-37
Chapter 2:2 Slowboats to Hades – Pages 38-39
Chapter 2:3 Escape to Plastic Beach – Pages 40-41
Chapter 2:4 We Are Still Humanz – Pages 43-44
Chapter 2:5 No More Unicorns Anymore – Pages 45-46

Conclusion – Pages 47-49

Bibliography – Pages 50-52

 1

Introduction
Gorillaz is a virtual band consisting of 2-D, Murdoc, Russell and Noodle. However,
those are the fictional members and I will dive into more detail about them later on this
introduction.

In reality, two men created this virtual band:

Damon Albarn Jamie Hewlett

Damon Albarn is a musician, singer, Jamie Hewlett is an artist, illustrator and
songwriter, composer and record writer.
producer.
He was born on the 3rd of April 1968.
Damon was born on the 23rd of March
When Jamie was 20 he worked with Alan
1968.
Martin, Phillip Bond, Brett Ewins and Steve
Damon gained a very strong interest in Dillion to create a magazine called
music at the very early age of 6. He Deadline. Which featured works provided
started playing piano, violin and the by British creators. The strip he made
guitar and gained an interest in “Tankgirl” went viral. There was even a
composing music. He even won a movie made for it (although that failed
nationwide “Young composer of the hard).
Year” competition with one of his
By the time Deadline got cancelled in 1996
compositions.
Jamie was an expert in the comic field and
Later on Damon met Graham Coxon, was working to provide art and covers for
along with Alex James and Dave DC Comics.
Rowntree they became friends and
eventually formed the music band Blur.
 2

Initially, Damon and Jamie didn’t get along very well at all. Jamie was quoted on saying
that Damon was: “ar**y, a w***er". Despite that though they shared a flat on
Westbourne Grove in 1997.

The idea for Gorillaz came to light when Damon and Jamie were watching MTV. They realised how much
trash was on the music channel (and with songs like Ice Ice Baby, Barbie Girl, Who Let the Dogs Out and I’m
Too Sexy being everywhere at that time period. I honestly don’t blame them).

Jamie was quoted on saying: “If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell – there's nothing of substance
there. So, we got this idea for a virtual band, something that would be a comment on that.”

And just like that Damon and Jamie started brainstorming an idea for a band. The original name that they
came up with was “Gorrila” before changing it to “Gorillaz”. It remains unknown how they came up with
these names or the reasoning behind it.

One fan theory states it could be because of anonymity with “Gorilla” being interpreted as “guerrilla” which
comes from guerrilla warfare (which means a small group using sneaky military tactics to fight a bigger
army). What backs this up is with this quote from Damon of what he said in an article by The Guardian in
2017 “People weren’t meant to know it was me, even now I think, during the gigs, I’m going to be able to go
off, go backstage and make myself a drink and a hologram will take my place for a couple of songs.”

Another theory states it could be because Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn were both born in 1968 (The
Year of the Monkey).

And another theory states it could be a quote from one of Oasis’ band members mocking Blur. Noel
Gallagher (the songwriter/guitarist of the band) said on an interview with CMJ: "The fact of the matter is,
we're the Beatles and the Stones, and they're the f***ing Monkees."
 3

Now that we’re done with the real creators of the band and its real pre-history.

Let’s get into the details of the fictional members of the band:

Murdoc 2-D Noodle Russel

Murdoc was born on 2-D was born on the Noodle was born on the 31st Russel was born on the 3rd of

the 6th of June 1966 in 23rd of May 1978 in of October 1990 in Kansai, June 1975 in Brooklyn, United

Staffordshire, West Sussex, England. Japan. Her real name is States. His real name is “Russel

England. His real His real name is unknown. Hobbs”.

name is “Murdoc “Stuart Pot”.

She (along with 22 other He went to a school for young
Niccals”. achievers but was expelled due
He loved music since children) were trained
Murdoc went through he was around 10. His simply for the use of the to attacking students when he

a very abusive parents recalled him government and the was pocessed by a demon. He

childhood and was bouncing up and down military. After the children fell in a coma for 4 years. He got

bullied a lot (which in his bedroom were deemed too out of it and went to another high

people say explains listening to The Clash, dangerous and unstable school where he met some

his addictions and Augustus Pablo, The the experiment was friends. However, they were all

sour attitude), He Human League (his scrapped. (All 22 other shot up and killed by a gang. One

always dreamed of favourite band at the children were killed). of them was wearing a black

being in a band and time) and many more Except for Noodle. Dr hood so he identified him as the

leaving his home area. musicians. Kyuzo was reluctant to kill “Grim Reaper”. After the

Shortly after, he her so he wiped her shooting his friends resided with
2-D usually does the
became a Satanist. memory using the words him (Del being the most
vocals for the songs
“Ocean Bacon” and prominent) which gave him
Murdoc made the band the band produces.
smuggled her into the UK incredible talent in music but
and provides the lyrics However, sometimes
using a FedEx crate. glowing white eyes as a side
and the bass for the he plays the keyboard
effect, He was also sent to the
songs the band as well. Noodle usually plays the
UK for his own safety.
produces. guitar but she also
sometimes does the Russell does the percussions

vocals. for the songs the band produces.

 4

Chapter 1 – The band’s real history

Chapter 1:1 Gorillaz

Before Gorillaz’s first self-titled album debuted, their first two singles debuted,
“Tomorrow Comes Today” debuted on the 27th November 2000. And “Clint Eastwood”
debuted on the 5th March 2001. There were two more singles after the album’s release.
“19-2000” debuted on the 25th June 2001. Finally, “Rock the House” debuted on the 22nd
October 2001.

The album debuted on the 26th March 2001. The album was incredibly successful in the
US and especially the UK. It peaked at #3 and #14 in the Top 40 charts in the UK and US
respectively. It also managed to sell over 7 million copies worldwide and managed to
already break a Guinness World Record for “Most Successful Virtual Band”. The
reviews for the album were generally positive. With a 71/100 from Metacritic and 4/5
stars from the Guardian. It also got nominated for several awards specifically the
Mercury awards.

The Mercury awards is a whole tale of itself. They were nominated in July 2001 and
Damon (and the band for that matter) immediately made it clear that they did not want
to take part. With Murdoc deciding to appear and said this to the Mercury organisers.
"Mercury award? Sounds a bit heavy, man!" said Murdoc. "Y'know sorta like carrying a
dead albatross around your neck for eternity. No thanks, man! Why don't you nominate
some other poor muppet!". Basically, mocking the award and making it look like it was
a joke.

The Mercury organisers immediately counteracted by saying that they were still in the
running whether they liked it or not and only Parlophone (the record label that signed
Gorillaz in the UK and signed them up for the award) could withdraw them. Although
they initially refused. They were pulled out on the 4th September due to the band’s
insistence. 8 days before the ceremony!

But when I think Gorillaz. This is probably the first album I would turn to. Since it really
promotes what makes them unique. “Clint Eastwood” is one of my favourite songs the
 5

band has made. “Rock the House” and “19-2000” are also two very good songs. But
probably what I like about it the most is that it mixes in a lot of different genres of music
without sounding off. Whilst later albums would also do this. They didn’t include as
many genres of music as the original album.

Clint Eastwood is a great example of mixing in many types and genres of music without
it feeling off and forced. Trip-hop, rap rock, indie dance and more are seamlessly
mixed into the song. Not many songs today mix in so many genres of music and pulls it
off successfully. Which is probably why I have such a soft spot for Clint Eastwood.
Meanwhile, you have “19-2000” experimenting with funk, “Rock the House” expanding
on the alternative hip hop that “Clint Eastwood” introduced. And “Tomorrow Comes
Today” expanding on the Trip-hop that again, Clint Eastwood introduced. These were
the “main songs” of the album (the ones that got music videos) but there are many
other songs to cover from this album.

The songs will be going in order of appearance from the album. It will include what
genre it is, my opinion of the song and my score (out of 10). In the end, I’ll tally up and
average out the song scores to give my overall rating of the album. This system will be
used for all the albums that are covered in this project.

NOTE: I will not be covering remixes! Only the original songs made by the band will be
covered.

Now that we’ve covered the system that I’ll be using. Let’s start reviewing the album’s
songs! Starting with:

• Re-Hash (Alternative/Indie) – A nice relaxing start to the album. It has a good beat but
the lyrics that were at the beginning of the song. Were repeated throughout with no
variety. But it’s still a nice start to the album. (7/10)

• 5/4 (Alternative/Rock) – A really edgy song. However, the rocky beat of the song does
play quite well with the lyrics of the song and its overall a decent listening experience
(6/10)
 6

• Tomorrow Comes Today (Trip-Hop) - I really do like this song (one of my favourites
out of the entire album). This is a really nice song to listen to. It has a really nice rhythm
and 2-D’s natural singing voice is very nice to listen to. (9/10)

• New Genius (Brother) (Electronic/Dance) – This is a nice song (probably because I

like electronic music). It’s a shame that it’s infrequent in this album. The violin (that
plays in the chorus) plays nicely with the beat and suits the style of the song, the lyrics
were quite good too! (7/10)

• Clint Eastwood (Trip-hop/Alternative Hip-Hop/Rap Rock/Dub/Indie

Dance/Alternative Rock) – Now, this has got to be easily my favourite song of the
album. You’d expect a song with these many genres of music to be very jarring and not
blend in well. But this song executes it beautifully! Del the funky homosapien was also
very nice to listen to and was very catchy. Overall, this is the best song of the album
(and probably one of my favourite songs they have ever produced). (10/10)

• Man Research (Clapper) (Electronic/Dance) – It’s a song with a nice beat. But the
lyrics are very repetitive (half of the song is just someone saying yeah). 2-D appears
occasionally but only as background vocals. I do like the overall flow of the song but it’s
not enough to justify the actual contents of it. (4.5/10)

• Punk (Rock/Pop) – This is the shortest song of the album. 2-D sounds very different in
this song (was almost convinced that he wasn’t in the song). It’s short but sweet. I like
the fast-paced nature of the song and its rocky vibe. (8/10)

• Sound Check (Gravity) (Rock/Pop) – Nice beat but very repetitive lyrics again. Not too
much to add here (despite this being one of the longer songs of the album). This is
probably one of my least favourite songs out of the entire album though. (4/10)

• Double Bass (R&B) – This is a mostly instrumental song (with only 2 lines worth of
lyrics). It is also the longest song of the entire album (clocking in at 4:44) I do like the
beat and the slow pace it takes with it. Not many songs Gorillaz has made has a
relaxing beat so I can always appreciate it when one comes up (like this one). (7.5/10)

• Rock the House (Hip-Hop/Rap) – This is the only song in the album where 2-D is not
present at all. Instead, you’ve got Del again in one of my favourite songs of the album. It
 7

has a nice beat and the lyrics are very diverse. The song flowed very well with Del’s
rapping and was a very good listening experience overall. (9/10)

• 19-2000 (Funk) – Again, one of my favourite songs of the album. It has a nice pace and
beat. The lyrics (although sometimes repetitive) has some diversity (at least
compared to some of the other songs I reviewed). Also, Noodle’s singing is very nice!
This is a great listening experience overall. (8.5/10)

• Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo) (Alternative/Indie) – This is the only song in this
album that isn’t English. It’s Spanish instead! Although I cannot understand most of the
lyrics. It does have a nice beat and rhythm and suits the very depressing nature of the
song (when the lyrics were translated into English). I also like how It does it without
going full-on edgy (unlike 5/4 which I reviewed earlier). (7.5/10)

• Starshine (Alternative/Punk) – Beat is pleasant to listen to but lyrics are quite

repetitive, 2-D’s voice sounds a bit off/unnatural in this song (which in this case isn’t a
very good thing). I didn’t like this song very much. Definitely not my least favourite out
of the entire album but not that good either. (5/10)

• Slow Country (Electronic/Dance) – I do like this song. Its lyrics are repetitive (which
seems to be quite a common trend within this album). But 2-D’s voice actually sounds
natural again (which is a positive in my books). Not much to say beyond that though
except it was a good listening experience. (8/10)

• M1 A1 (Alternative/Indie) – It’s the “longest” song in the album (clocking in at 10:42).

But the majority of that runtime (after the M1 A1 song) is just a Clint Eastwood remix
(which I will not be reviewing). Its actual runtime is 4:02! But enough of that. I actually
need to review the song. The common trend of repetitive lyrics is still there but the beat
is nice and I like how they scramble the song at the beginning. Not the best ending to an
album I’ve seen but certainly not the worst one either and it’s definitely a good way to
end a mix of good/mediocre/bad songs. (7.5/10)
 8

Now let’s see how this album averages out!

Average Percentage – 78%

The album does definitely have its flaws. But some of the band’s best songs are in
this album. Clint Eastwood being the best song the band has ever made (in my
opinion). There is also a lot of underrated songs like Funk and Slow Country which I
don’t see anyone talking about today. It has also experimented with a lot of genres
(seeing what sticks and what doesn’t). I always appreciate when a band or artist
experiments with its songs and (although not as extensively as this album) the
trend of experimentation carries on its other albums.
 9

Chapter 1:2 Demon Days

The only single to release before the album’s release is “Feel Good Inc.” which was
released on the 9th May 2005. “DARE” was released on the 29th August 2005. “Dirty
Harry” was released on the 21st November 2005. Finally, “El Mañana” and “Kids with
Guns” were both released on the 10th April 2006.

The album was released on the 11th May 2005. This album was even more successful
than the self-titled album that was released 4 years prior. It peaked #1 and #6 on the
UK and US charts respectively. It sold over 8 million copies worldwide and got positive
reviews upon release. With an 82/100 from Metacritic and 4/5 stars from The Guardian.
It was also nominated (and won) several awards. Particularly, their single Feel Good
Inc. would win their one and (to this day) their only Grammy. This is also the album (I
personally believe) that got Gorillaz straight into the mainstream. Although, I believe
that this album isn’t the best the band has produced. I still believe it deserves the
praise and the recognition that it got back then and what it still gets to this day.

Before this album released, Damon and Jamie were apparently working on a Gorillaz
film. It was called “Celebrity Harvest”. The movie was ultimately scrapped because
Dreamworks wanted to make the film family-friendly. This was what Jamie was later
quoted as saying about the film: "We lost all interest in doing it as soon as we started
meeting with studios and talking to these Hollywood executive types, we just weren't
on the same page. We said, f**k it, we'll sit on the idea until we can do it ourselves, and
maybe even raise the money ourselves." We have seen nothing since.

This is the album the majority of people come to when they think Gorillaz. This is mainly
because of the single Feel Good Inc.! This is by far the most popular song the band has
ever produced. It even got a Kidz Bop version of the song (which after listening to it is
probably one of the worst listening experiences I have ever had). I do not know how
they can degrade the quality of a fantastic song so much. But getting off-topic!

I believe this a truly fantastic album with a nice blend of genres. Although it didn’t
experiment as much as the first album. I don’t think it needed to! As they have found
what works and what hasn’t from their self-titled album. That doesn’t mean they
haven’t thrown it away completely though. As you’ll soon see there are still songs (like
 10

“O Green World”) that experiment a lot with sound effects and instruments. Although
none of the songs is my absolute personal favourites. It still has a nice consistency
(unlike the previous album) of good songs.

“Feel Good Inc.” is a fantastic song (although personally not my favourites or even in
my top 3). It is still a fantastic song with unique lyrics for each verse and a nice beat and
even a ukulele instrumental. “DARE” is a nice pop song with Noodle being the lead
singer. This would be the only time in the band’s history that this would happen. “Dirty
Harry” is also a nice listening experience (with kids doing background vocals at the
beginning). “El Mañana” is quite a relaxing song. And “Kids with Guns” is a nice, slow-
paced rock song. The album is mixed between dark songs with rappers and upbeat
songs with collaborations like Shaun Ryder.

I’m going to have to add an extra rule, however (from this album onwards). Albums
from here onwards (except for The Now Now and The Fall) have an “intro” on them.
These will be excluded as they aren’t proper songs.

Anyway, enough about the rules and info about the album. Let’s start reviewing the
songs!
Starting with:

• Last Living Souls (Electronic) – Lyrics are quite repetitive but it has a nice (oddly
positive) beat and it’s an overall nice listening experience that makes a nice beginning
to the album. (8/10)

• Kids with Guns (Trip-Hop) – It’s a nice slow-paced trip-hop song. It has varied (and
creative) lyrics and a very nice beat to go along with the nice flow of genres in the
music. It was a very good listening experience overall and probably one of the best
songs in the album. (9/10)

• O Green World (Trip-Hop) – I feel like this song was highly experimental. As it’s just
sound effects and random beats/instruments combined together. It isn’t as clean as
the other songs and it doesn’t flow as well as the other songs. Its lyrics are varied but
the song is just a mess. I don’t hate it but I don’t like it too much either. Probably the
weakest out of the entire album. (6/10)

7
 11

• Dirty Harry (Trip-Hop) – This is a great song. It has a nice beat with nice use of
instruments in the beginning and the short instrumental. The rapping section was also
very well executed. This is one of the best songs in the entire album. (9/10)

• Feel Good Inc. (Alternative-Rock) – Now, this is a fantastic song. I’d argue that it’s a
little overrated (and definitely not the best that the band has produced). But this song is
fantastic. Unique and great lyrics throughout the song, rapping that flows incredibly
well with the tone and pace of the song (thanks to De La Soul) and a brilliant ukulele
instrumental. Along with 2-D’s singing, this is easily one of the best songs of the entire
album. (10/10)

• El Mañana (Trip-Hop) – A nice relaxing song (after Feel Good Inc). It has a nice beat,
repetitive (but thoughtful) lyrics and the overall pacing and beat are slow and sweet. A
very nice song overall! (8/10)

• Every Planet We Reach Is Dead (Alternative-Rock) – The longest song in the entire
album (clocking in at 4:53). I was most surprised at how calm the song was (despite
the title and the genre it is in). Lyrics are diverse, the beat is nice and (like I said before)
calm and it was a nice song to listen to (and probably the only rock song I’ve listened to
that is this calm). (8/10)

• November Has Come (Pop/Rap) – It’s mostly a rapper (MF DOOM) that’s rapping for
most the verses with 2-D only appearing in the chorus. Fortunately, the rapping is
good and it works with the beat to get a good flow of the song. The lyrics are also
diverse (which is obvious because otherwise, it wouldn’t be a very good rap song). It
was a very enjoyable song to say the least, (8.5/10)

• All Alone (Punk) – Again, mostly a rapper (Roots Manuva) doing the verses with 2-D
doing the chorus. But, Martina Topley-Bird also appears to do a verse. Roots Manuva
sections are very fast paced and I like it. It’s not easy rapping fast (even when you’re
not thinking on the spot). The lyrics (again) were unique (excluding the chorus) and
Martina’s part was also very nice to listen to. A great collaboration overall. (8.5/10)

• White Light (Trip-Hop) – For the first time in a Gorillaz song. 2-D is completely absent.
He is instead replaced by Murdoc in this very repetitive song. The beat is really good (I
could probably jam out to this). Has a very good instrumental in the middle. Murdoc
 12

singing is questionable (and the audio quality of his voice is very low compared to the
rest of the album). I do feel like it is filler, however (so I’ll have to dock it points for that).
Still a good song though (although probably one of the weaker ones in the album)
(6.5/10)

• DARE (Electronic/Pop) – 2-D is also completely absent from this song too. But Noodle
is singing instead of Murdoc (which I prefer). Shaun Ryder is doing the verses whilst
Noodle is doing the chorus. It’s a nice pop song (which we don’t see much of in this
album). The lyrics are repetitive but does flow well with the beat of the song. Shaun
Ryder does work well with the song and Noodle singing is great. It’s a shame that this
is the only song Noodle has a lead role in singing. This is a great song and one of the
best in the entire album (9/10)

• Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey’s Head (Hip-Hop) – This was a weird song. There was
a narrator for the majority of it (Dennis Hopper) who was telling a story. With 2-D doing
the interlude and the outro. The beat is nice and ‘jumpy’ but there’s nothing to really say
beyond that (as the majority of the song is just a narrator telling a story). It was still an
interesting experience though. (7.5/10)

• Don’t Get Lost in Heaven (Indie/Electronic) – It’s the shortest song in the album
(clocking in at dead-on 2:00). So, there isn’t a lot to say. The beat is nice and positive.
The London Community Gospel Choir makes an appearance for the chorus (which is
nice to hear). Overall, a short but a nice song. (8/10)

• Demon Days (Electronic) – A very nice and upbeat ending to the album. 2-D sings one
verse and The London Community Gospel Choir takes over again to sing the other
verse and outro. The beat is positive and the singing is great once again. It’s a great way
to end a (mostly) consistently good album. (8.5/10)
 13

Now let’s see how this album averages out!

Average Percentage – 82%

This album feels more refined than the self-titled album 4 years prior. Although
there were definitely songs that missed the mark. The majority did definitely hit the
mark and that consistency of good songs instead of constant hit and miss of the
previous album does make this a better album overall. This album is fantastic and I
can see why some of it’s songs are still played occasionally to this day.
 14

Chapter 1:3 Plastic Beach

Again, the only single to release before the album was “Stylo” which released on the
26th January 2010. “Superfast Jellyfish” was released on the 9th March 2010. “On
Melancholy Hill” was released on the 26th July 2010. And “Rhinestone Eyes” was
released on the 6th September 2010.

The album was released on the 3rd March 2010. The album peaked at #2 on the UK and
US charts. The album got positive reviews with a 71/100 from Metacritic and (you
guessed it) 4/5 stars from The Guardian. Unfortunately, it sold really badly compared
to Demon Days and the self-titled album before it. Only selling 1.4 million copies in its
lifetime. There is, however, a reason for this.

EMI (the parent company to Parlophone at the time) was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Because of this, promotion for the album was little to none after its release. Bad
management of the budget was also a massive issue. The band had already spent all
the money on the album before its release. The tour was also a massive financial flop.
With Damon being quoted saying: "I had 70 musicians, I toured around the world. I
made about 20 pounds by the end of it, so I won't be going on another of those." Even
worse, because of all the financial flops. EMI refused to fund the Rhinestone Eyes
music video. Which was meant to end the Phase 3 plotline? All that remains is the
storyboard of Rhinestone Eyes on their YouTube channel…

Well, that was until the 31st August 2017. Where a fan made animation was uploaded to
YouTube by YouTuber “richard van as” and for the first time, we saw what the music
video could’ve been if it was animated. EMI went bankrupt 2 years after the album
released on the 28th September 2012.

Also, in October 2010. Damon released a statement to the media that he would not let
the cast of Glee cover any of the band’s songs. With Damon taking a jab at Fox claiming
that they would make a “very poor substitute for the real thing”. This caused a lot of
confusion as Fox never asked Gorillaz to lend them their songs. Damon responded to
the confusion with a laugh and said: “and now they definitely won’t.”
 15

I personally feel that this album was one massive experiment. The style and overall
aesthetic of the album are completely different from Demon Days and the self-titled
album and it features a lot more collaborations than Demon Days and the self-titled
album. This is all backed up by a quote from Damon. "I'm making this the biggest and
most pop record I've ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at
least present something that has got depth.”

You would think this is where they would hit rock bottom (well in terms of the tour and
the financial situation it certainly did) but this was executed very well. I believe that it
has produced some of the best songs they have ever made and it’s considered the best
album they have made by the majority of the fandom.

“Stylo” is a nice song (which is a consistent trend for most of this album). “Superfast
Jellyfish” is a slow-paced rap song with a positive beat and unique lyrics. “On
Melancholy Hill” is a very nice song that doesn’t feature a collaboration at all. It’s 2-D
singing from the beginning until the end. The same can be said for “Rhinestone Eyes”.
Both of these songs are very nice and I do wish that there were more calm songs with
only 2-D singing.

Because that’s where this album peaks. There is one more song that I consider the
absolute best of the album (but for some reason, it isn’t a single). So, I’ll get to that song
soon.

Since there are no extra rules that I need to add. Let’s start reviewing the songs!
Starting with:

• Welcome To The World Of Plastic Beach (Electronic/Rock) – A nice start to the album.
Unique lyrics, Snoop Dogg is a surprising but welcome appearance (as he keeps up
with the flow of the song) and it has a beat that I can see myself jamming out to. A great
song overall. (8.5/10)

• White Flag (Hip-Hop/Electronic) – A song with very nice orchestrated music (for the
instrumentals). And a nice electronic beat comes when Bashy comes on. The beat then
changes when Kano comes on (which is nice). 2-D isn’t anywhere to be heard in this
song though which is unfortunate but it’s still a nice song. (7/10)
 16

• Rhinestone Eyes (Pop/Funk) – This is one of my favourite songs out of the entire
album. The lyrics are unique, the beat is really nice and it’s a song with only 2-D in it.
The song was fantastic and is definitely one of my favourites out of the entire album.
(9.5/10)

• Stylo (Electronic/Synth-Pop) – I do like this song. But it’s probably my least favourite
single out of this entire album. It is unique but I personally believe it drags out for a bit
too long. It has a nice beat like the rest of the songs. 2-D is featured quite prominently
in the song but it is still over 4 minutes long. The rappers (Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
don’t really get me interested either. I feel like a song like this should be in between the
2 – 3-minute mark. It doesn’t really work if it’s dragged out for long. But still enjoyable
nonetheless! (7.5/10)

• Superfast Jellyfish (Electronic/Trip-Hop) – I like this single a lot better than Stylo. It’s
short and has a great beat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul also do a great job of keeping up
with the flow of the beat. Not much to say beyond that. The fantastic song overall.
(8.5/10)

• Empire Ants (Electronic/Synth-Pop) – Now this, easily the best song of the entire
album. I love this song. It does so much right in my books. The fact it seamlessly
transitions from one genre of music to another, it is incredibly relaxing (so relaxing, in
fact, I’ve caught myself drifting off to it), 2-D’s voice is probably the best it has ever
been, Little Dragon does a fantastic job keeping the aesthetic of the genre while
singing (on the 2nd half) and it succeeds where Stylo failed. Keeping me interested
throughout the runtime. This is one of the longest songs out of the entire album (4:43)
and I loved every second of it. Best song of the album and I can probably say this is
their best song that they’ve ever made. Beautiful song. (10/10)

• Glitter Freeze (Electronic) – Most of the song is a very repetitive beat. With some
occasional words being spoken by Mark E Smith. What doesn’t help is that it’s
incredibly long too. 2-D is also absent so that sucks. Probably one of my least favourite
out of the entire album. (5.5/10)

• Some Kind of Nature (Pop/Trip-Hop) – I do really like this song. The beat is very nice.
Lou Reed does a very good job of keeping up with the flow of the beat. 2-D also makes
 17

an appearance and his singing is good as usual. The lyrics are quite repetitive but it’s
not that bad. Good song overall though (7.5/10)

• On Melancholy Hill (Electronic/Synth-Pop) – This is a very relaxing and beautiful

song. 2-D is singing for all of it. The beat is positive and very nice. Lyrics are quite
repetitive but not that noticeable most of the time. A great song overall! (8.5/10)

• Broken (Electronic/Synth-Pop) – A surprising turn as most of the songs (up to this

point) has been mostly positive in terms of lyrics. It has a good (but repetitive) beat and
2-D is the only singer again and I am glad that there is quite a bit of that in the album.
This was quite an interesting and enjoyable experience. (8/10)

• Sweepstakes (Electronic/Hip-Hop) - I did not like this song at all. It feels like the
mess that O Green World was but at least with that, it didn’t have bad rhythm in it.
Funnily enough, the two people who were singing appeared in much better songs in
the album. Mos Def appeared in Stylo and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble appeared on
Welcome To The World Of Plastic Beach. So, I don’t know what happened here but it’s
terrible. 2-D is completely absent, the song is the longest in the entire album (5:21), the
lyrics are diverse but as dull as porridge and it’s just very bad. Probably the worst
Gorillaz song I’ve ever heard. (4.5/10)

• Plastic Beach (Alternative-Rock/Electronic) – This song is pretty good. The beat is

very nice and varied. Paul Simonon and Mick Jones do a great job with the bass and
guitars respectively. 2-D is here again but not much to say beyond that. It’s a good
song. (7.5/10)

• To Binge (Electronic/Synth-Pop) – This was an enjoyable experience. Little Dragon

comes back for this one and (although this song is not as good as Empire Ants) it’s still
interesting and enjoyable. The beat is very nice and relaxing, lyrics are diverse and it
was overall a nice experience. (8/10)

• Cloud of Unknowing (Synth-Pop) – A very slow-paced song with Bobby Womack

singing. 2-D is completely absent (which is a shame). But Bobby Womack’s singing
voice is very good and it (along with the very nice beat and diverse lyrics) makes this a
fantastic song. (8.5/10)
 18

• Pirate Jet (Electronic/Synth-Pop) – A very nice way to end off an album. I like how the
song directly connects to the previous song and takes it from there. 2-D is back (which
is nice). It’s a song with long periods of instrumentals but the beat is really good so I
don’t mind it at all. There’s only one verse of lyrics (and that gets repeated once) which
is a shame but not a massive deal breaker. Overall, a very nice way to cap off a great
album. (8.5/10)

Now let’s see how the album averages out!

Average Percentage – 78%

Its average is the same as their first self-titled album. I believe the main reason
for this is that Sweepstakes is such a bad song. Otherwise it would’ve likely
scored higher (would’ve gone up to 80%). But this is still a great album. It is a
consistently good album too (with a couple of major anomalies) but apart from
that it’s a fantastic album.
 19

Chapter 1:4 The Fall

The Fall only got 2 singles. “Revolving Doors” and “Amarillo” were both released on the
14th March 2011.

The album was released on the 25th December 2010 (available to stream for free). The
album wouldn’t be officially released until the 19th April 2011 where physical copies
popped up in stores. The album peaked at #12 and #24 in the UK and US charts
respectively. The album received mixed to positive reviews. With Metacritic giving it a
67/100 and 3/5 stars from The Guardian. The album sold really poorly compared to the
previous albums. Only selling 180,000 copies worldwide (this includes paid downloads
from the website).

This album I believe is the black-sheep of Gorillaz albums. I never see this album get
talked about at all (unless it’s a best to worst shortlist). I hadn’t even heard of this
album until I started doing research into this project. Some appreciate it for it being
unique and experimental. Others think it has gone too far and had completely lost the
feeling that it had been making for the last three albums.

What probably doesn’t help is that this was thrown out at the same year as Plastic
Beach came out (and the timing on that was all wrong). It was in the middle of an
unhealthy age for Gorillaz. People were still mad about how the Rhinestone Eyes
music video was cancelled, rumours were flying all over the place about Damon and
Jamie having a massive falling out and the status of the band was incredibly toxic at
the time. This basically muted the album shortly after it came out and has quickly
become either forgotten or ignored by the majority of the fandom. I believe if it was
timed better it would’ve done a lot better than it did.

I do also believe some people were turned off by the album after it was revealed all the
songs were made on an iPad and were not prepared at all. In fact, all the songs were
made in only one month! This is what Damon had to say about the recording process "I
literally made it on the road. I didn't write it before; I didn't prepare it. I just did it day by
day as a kind of diary of my experience in America. If I left it until the New Year to
release it then the cynics out there would say, 'Oh well, it's been tampered with', but if I
 20

put it out now, they'd know that I haven't done anything because I've been on tour ever
since."

What probably impacted the sales the most though is the fact that it was made
available to stream for free months before the album’s release. You had to pay for
downloads but I don’t think that made an impact at all. It is still quite varied but it’s
nowhere near as varied as the previous 3 albums. Only sticking to three genres! It
didn’t really have memorable hits as the previous 3 albums did. Gorillaz had Clint
Eastwood, Demon Days had Feel Good Inc. and Plastic Beach had Empire Ants. This
album doesn’t really have anything memorable. That doesn’t mean it’s bad but it means
it’s forgettable. Which is why I think it was quickly forgotten and is generally ignored
today. It features fewer collaborations than previous albums too. Bobby Womack, Paul
Simonon and Mick Jones are the only collaborators in this album. I do think this could
be a good thing as there could be (potentially) more songs with only 2-D.

“Revolving Doors” and “Amarillo” are great examples of how 2-D focused songs can be
great. Revolving Doors is a nice slow-paced song with varied lyrics and with a ukulele
playing in the background. “Amarillo” is a mostly instrumental song (with some lyrics
here and there). It is incredibly electronic (which is expected when you’re recording
songs on an iPad) but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I quite liked this song and it was a nice
experience.

One thing before I start reviewing the album. At the end of the album, there is a track
called “Seattle Yodel”. I won’t be reviewing it mainly because it’s just yodelling and not
a proper song. Anyway, with that out of the way let’s get straight onto reviewing the
songs!
Starting with:

• Phoner to Arizona (Electronic) – A-okay way to start off an album. I like the beat but it
does get quite repetitive. It also does have long periods of instrumentals. The lyrics are
heavily distorted/synthesized so I can’t quite make out what it is saying. It is also the
longest song in the entire album (clocking in at 4:14). Still a decent start though.
(6.5/10)
 21

• Revolving Doors (Electronic) - It’s a nice song. Lyrics are diverse and the beat is nice
but repetitive again. I also like how it connects straight from the last song (like how
Cloud of Unknowing and Pirate Jet did it in Plastic Beach). This happens a lot in this
album and I can appreciate that. (7.5/10)

• Hillbilly Man (Electronic) – It’s a nice calm song in the beginning then it completely
switches its tone and beat. I like this because it does keep you on your toes and you
don’t expect that to happen next. Apart from that. The beat is nice (and not repetitive for
the first time in this album). The lyrics are diverse and I do like this song overall. (8/10)

• Detroit (Electronic) – A nice upbeat (mostly) instrumental. There is a robotic voice

near the end (that’s simply saying numbers 8 times). But nothing else beyond that!
When the beat feels like it gets repetitive it adds an extra layer of noise or switches the
pitch. Which is simple yet effective. Not much more to say about this song but it was a
nice experience and the shortest song out of the entire album (clocking in at 2:03)
(7/10)

• Shy-Town (Electronic/Lo-fi) – A nice chill beat (the instrumentals really help this
beat out). There’s diverse lyrics and the vocals do compliment the nice beat (2-D’s
voice sounds really nice in this song). A good song overall. (7.5/10)

• Little Pink Plastic Bags (Electronic) – The beat is very nice but the lyrics are very
repetitive. 2-D’s voice blends right into the song (which is really nice) and the song
transitioned really nicely from Shy-Town. I think this is one of the better songs in the
album. (8/10)

• The Joplin Spider (Electronic) – This is mostly instrumental but this song makes it
very clear it was made on an iPad (and that’s not a good thing). It’s mostly a repetitive
beat with (I think) racing car like sound effects. Although the massive bass drop, in the
beginning, did get me initially excited that there was going to be something completely
unique. That, unfortunately, didn’t happen and left me incredibly underwhelmed. It’s
okay. I can appreciate the transition from Little Pink Plastic Bags. But, it’s definitely
one of my least favourites of the entire album (5.5/10)

• The Parish Of Space Dust (Electronic/Lo-fi) – A more laid back and slow-paced song.
I do like it. Again, it connects directly from The Joplin Spider, 2-D’s voice (again) blends
 22

in really well with the tone of the song. The beat is great and there’s only one verse of
proper lyrics (so not much to say about that). A nice experience overall! (7.5/10)

• The Snake in Dallas (Electronic) – This is an instrumental (and a good one at that). The
beat is nice to listen to and unique, the effects they use are tolerable (unlike O Green
World), it connects directly from The Parish Of Space Dust (which is always a very nice
touch) and it was a good listening experience (7/10)

• Amarillo (Electronic/Trip-Hop) – I really do like the laid-back beat of this song (which
seems to be a common trend in this album). There are only two verses but those
verses are completely unique. Not much more to say about this one but it was a good
song (7.5/10)

• The Speak It Mountains (Electronic) – I believe this is where the experimentation of

the album peaks. While I do appreciate the experimentation, it links back to it going too
far and has completely lost the feel of a Gorillaz song. There is quite a lot of that in this
album but this is the song where it’s the most noticeable. At least with O Green World,
it had 2-D but even he is nowhere to be seen in this song. Instead, he is replaced by
some monotone voices. I probably wouldn’t be able to recognise this (and some other
songs like The Joplin Spider) as songs made by Gorillaz. I think I can safely say that this
is my least favourite song out of the entire album and it’s incredibly close to
Sweepstakes to being my least favourite Gorillaz song. (4.5/10)

• Aspen Forest (Electronic) – The song is a nice instrumental. It has a nice and varied
beat and the song connects directly from The Speak It Mountains. Not much to say
beyond that though. Just a decent listening experience. (7/10)

• Bobby in Phoenix (Electronic/Trip-Hop) – Bobby Womack does the vocals for this one
and 2-D is still nowhere to be seen. I do think Bobby Womack does do a really good job
with vocals for this song and it’s a shame this was the last collaboration he did with
Gorillaz before passing away in 2014. Anyway, the beat is really nice and the lyrics are
diverse. This is my favourite song out of the album simply because of the very nice beat
and Bobby Womack’s vocal skills. (8.5/10)

• California & The Slipping of The Sun (Electronic) – A nice song with a nice beat and a
nice choice of instruments. There are unique lyrics (which isn’t very hard to do with
 23

only 2 verses), 2-D finally makes an appearance again and it transitions nicely from
Bobby in Phoenix. I really enjoyed listening to this song overall. (8/10)

Now let’s see how the album averages out!

Average Percentage – 66%

I can definitely see where people were coming from that this album
experimented so much that it lost what made Gorillaz so special. But this is far
from a bad album and doesn’t deserve to be disregarded or ignored. There are a
lot of underrated songs here that I believe deserve more attention (for example
Bobby In Phoenix and Hillbilly Man). Although consistently mediocre it was still a
good listening experience overall and I really did enjoy some of the songs in
there.
 24

Chapter 1:5 Humanz

There were five singles that were released before the album. “Saturnz Barz”, “We Got
the Power”, “Ascension” and “Andromeda” were all released on the 23rd March 2017.
The only other single to release before the album “Let Me Out” was released on the 6th
April 2017. There was only one single that released after the album. “Strobelite” was
released on the 4th August 2017.

The album was released on the 28th April 2017. The album peaked at #2 in the UK and US
charts. The album sold poorly compared to the other albums (but not as bad as The
Fall) selling 650,000 copies worldwide. The reviews for the album were generally
positive. With a 76/100 from Metacritic and 4/5 stars from The Guardian. It was also Q
Magazine’s pick for the best album of 2017.

You may notice that there was an incredibly long gap in-between the releases of The
Fall (released in 2011 officially) and Humanz (released in 2017). So why was there a 6-
year gap when their albums released every four years (except for The Fall which
officially released less than one year after Plastic Beach)?

Well… it’s a long story. But to (somewhat) summarise it. In 2012 Damon Albarn went on
an interview on The Guardian saying that it’s unlikely that there will be another Gorillaz
album. It’s a long interview but in a nutshell. Damon said that he and Jamie had
arguments about the focus on Gorillaz and had different views for it. Jamie felt that his
visuals weren’t getting enough attention so they split up. With Damon saying that
another album is “unlikely”.

Jamie, however, insisted that Gorillaz was not “packed away for good” and said the
split was only natural because they had been working together for 13 years at that
point. Here is what Jamie was quoted on saying: “We've lived in each other's pockets
for the last 13 years: we shared an apartment, our kids have grown up together, we’ve
been inseparable for a long time, and sometimes it's good to have a break,” he
explained. “We haven't fallen out, I just want to do some of my own stuff, and Damon
has many projects – he's always doing 10 things at once – so it's all right to separate for
a bit and try different things.”
 25

Damon backtracked on his statement not long after that. He is what he added to his
statement. “When Jamie Hewlett and I have worked out our differences, I’m sure we’ll
make another record. We’ve been through too much together for it to be that big of a
mountain to climb. We’ve just fallen out as mates do sometimes. I’m not the only
person to fall out with mates and then make up again – everyone does it.”

But not even a month after that interview. Damon did start hinting of doing a Gorillaz
album without Jamie. Here is what he said on the matter: “It was very much Jamie
Hewlett did the visuals and I did the music. The music won’t change, so there could be
another Gorillaz record tomorrow. It wouldn’t necessarily have Murdoc – the cartoon
aspect to it – but musically, no, nothing’s changed whatsoever.” However, that plan
went nowhere. That was all we heard about Gorillaz from the official creators until
July 2014.

Damon announced that a new Gorillaz album was in the works and was scheduled to
be released in 2016. However, Damon didn’t come out saying that he was going to the
studio until July 2015. This is what he said about going to record a new album, “I’m
starting recording in September for a new Gorillaz record. I've just been really, really
busy so I haven't had a chance. I'd love to just get back into that routine of being at
home and coming to the studio five days a week." In April 2016, Jamie posted two clips
working with several artists in the studio. Confirming that they had made up and the
album was being worked on.

A year later Damon said that the album would be coming out “fairly soon”, This is what
he said. "Later in the year, we'll be starting to get the whole Gorillaz thing together."
"I'm loving it," he continued, speaking about the new material. "It's getting there. It
should be ready fairly soon." It wasn’t long until we got our next piece of news either. In
September of that year, Gorillaz opened up their Instagram account and started
posting a timeline of the band. After that, new character models and pictures of the
band’s members started appearing. Then on the 23rd March 2017 the album’s: name
(Humanz), release date (28/04/2017), first four singles (“Saturnz Barz”, “We Got the
Power”, “Andromeda” and “Ascension”) and cover (which were just thumbnails of the
characters) were all posted on their Instagram account.
 26

Humanz is a weird album. It probably has the most mixed reception from the fanbase I
have ever seen. Some people in the fanbase like it because it has branched out to more
genres than The Fall and Plastic Beach. It also had some strong singles like “Saturnz
Barz”, “Andromeda” and “Ascension”. But some people dislike it because it focused
more on the collaborations than what made Gorillaz so appealing (every song in the
album has at least one collaborator in it). It comes off as generic in comparison to all
their previous albums. It also feels like a bunch of songs stuck together rather than a
proper album (which can both be a strength and a weakness). But I’ll make my
judgement on these points when I actually come to review the album (except for the
singles which I’ll cover now).

“Saturnz Barz” is a really nice song with a great beat with diverse lyrics and a great
collaboration with Popcaan. “We Got the Power” … I’ll get onto that song later.
“Ascension” was a song that is really edgy. But it is a song that I really enjoyed. Vince
Staples was a really nice collaboration. The beat was nice and the lyrics did remind me
of their debut 2001 album. “Andromeda” is a nice laid-back song. D.R.A.M does a great
job blending in with the beat and the lyrics are unique. “Let me Out” is a great song with
a very nice beat. Mavis Staples rapping flows very well with the beat and Pusha T was
nice to listen to. “Strobelite” was a good song with a nice and positive beat and Peven
Everett vocals did suit the song well. Oh, and also the lyrics were unique.

Before I review this album, I’m going to have one more rule. In this album (or at least in
the Deluxe version that I am reviewing) there are a lot of interludes. Since they aren’t
songs (they’re just filler), I will be skipping over them. With that out of the way let’s
start reviewing the songs!
Starting with:

• Ascension (feat. Vince Staples) (Hip-Hop) – I really enjoyed this song. The beat is
really nice and the lyrics were questionable. Whilst some people believe this is out of
place for a Gorillaz song. For me, this brings me back to their 2001 self-titled album.
Where they proved just because it was animated doesn’t mean it needs to be family
friendly so I believe it was a nice change of pace from the last 3 albums. 2-D’s
 27

appearance in the chorus was very nice and Vince Staples vocals were also very nice.
It was a great listening experience overall. (8/10)

• Strobelite (feat. Peven Everett) (Disco/Funk) – I did enjoy the upbeat nature of this
song. Peven Everett does deliver some nice vocals and the lyrics were unique. The
instrumental near the middle was also very nice to listen to. Not much to say beyond
that it was good. (7.5/10)

• Saturnz Barz (feat. Popcaan) (Trip-Hop) – 2-D’s vocals is probably at it’s best in the
entire album. Murdoc’s appearance and vocals are also surprisingly nice (looking at
you White Light). Popcaan vocals I felt like were perfect for this song and the beat was
fantastic. This is my favourite single out of the entire album no questions asked. (9/10)

• Momentz (feat. De La Soul) (Lo-Fi/Electronic) – De La Soul vocals were very nice to

listen to. 2-D’s brief appearance was okay but I wish he appeared more throughout the
song. Noodle does appear in this song but again it’s brief but her vocals were very nice
whilst it lasted. The beat was nice and the lyrics were unique but it didn’t feel like a
song made and produced by Gorillaz personally. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad song but it
just doesn’t belong in the album (and unfortunately this will be a common trend for this
album). It was still an enjoyable listening experience though (7/10)

• Submission (feat. Danny Brown & Kelela) (Electronic) – This is a nice song but again
this feels a bit off. Danny Brown does a somewhat decent job of freestyling and Kelela
was nice to listen to. But there’s no appearance from 2-D or any of the band’s members
for that matter. It’s a good song but one that doesn’t belong in the album. (7/10)

• Charger (feat. Grace Jones) (Rock/Rap) – I don’t really like this song. I do think it
(somewhat) does a better job of feeling like a Gorillaz song but the lyrics are very
repetitive. However, the beat was very nice and was unique for the entire song. Grace
Jones vocals were okay and 2-D does make an appearance again. It’s okay. It’s
certainly not bad but not that good either. (6.5/10)

• Andromeda (feat D.R.A.M) (Electronic) – Now this is a song I like. The beat is very nice
gives me vibes from Plastic Beach/The Fall and I feel like this actually belongs in the
 28

album. 2-D also does the vocals for most of the song. Alone! Which is (unfortunately)
one of the only songs in the entire album that does this. D.R.A.M vocals were nice
(although he only appeared in the pre-chorus). The lyrics are also unique and diverse.
It’s a shame that there aren’t more songs like this in the album. As it’s where the album
shines! This is easily one of my favourite songs out of the entire album. (8.5/10)

• Busted and Blue (feat. Kelela) (Electronic) – This was a really nice slow-paced song
to listen to, 2-D’s and Kelela’s vocals are absolutely beautiful in this song. The beat is
calm and slow-paced and it compliments their vocals really well. The lyrics are also
unique with each verse being completely different, It’s the longest song in the album
(clocking in at 4;40) but I enjoyed every second of it. It reminds me of Demon Days (the
song not the album) but if it didn’t have a positive beat. The beautiful song overall.
(8.5/10)

• Carnival (feat. Anthony Hamilton) (Electronic) – I didn’t like this song. Anthony’s
vocals were nice, the beat was okay and the lyrics were unique. But, again, it’s one of
those songs that simply doesn’t feel like a Gorillaz song. 2-D is also completely absent
from this song. It’s okay but it probably would’ve been a lot better if it was on a
completely different album. (6.5/10)

• Let me Out (feat. Mavis Staples & Pusha T) (Hip-Hop) – I really do like this song. It
does give me Demon Days vibes because of the overall tone of the song. Mavis Staples
does deliver some really nice vocals in the pre-chorus. Pusha T does a great job of
keeping up with the flow of the beat. 2-D also appears again in this song and (as usual)
delivers nice vocals in the chorus. This was a very enjoyable experience overall and
one of my favourite songs out of the entire album. (8.5/10)

• Sex Murder Party (feat. Jamie Principle & Zebra Katz) (Pop) – This isn’t a very good
song. 2-D’s vocals are good as usual, Jamie Principle’s vocals were fine but the audio
effects they used on the vocals didn’t make much sense. I did like Zebra Katz’s vocals a
lot more (mainly because they didn’t ruin it with audio effects) and it does suit the tone
of the song a lot more. The beat is okay and the lyrics are diverse (if you don’t include
 29

the intro and the outro). The song is okay and it does (sort of) feel like a Gorillaz song. I
just didn’t like it very much. (6/10)

• She’s my Collar (feat. Kali Uchis) (Electronic) – 2-D takes up the majority of the song
(which is very nice). Kali Uchis does sing with 2-D for some of the songs and her vocals
are very nice. The beat is also very nice and the lyrics are diverse. Unfortunately (and
admittedly), it’s one of the songs that simply would be better on another album. Still a
nice song though! (7.5/10)

• Hallelujah Money (feat. Benjamin Clementine) (Pop) – Benjamin Clementine’s vocals

were fantastic in this song. 2-D’s vocals are very good (although he only takes up a
small minority of the song) and the choir that was in the chorus was beautiful. The beat
is very nice and the lyrics are diverse. The song gives me a mix of Demon Days and
Plastic Beach vibes (which is very nice). There’s also a clip of SpongeBob crying for a
few seconds at the very end of the song (I am not sure why it’s on there but it doesn’t
matter that much. Just something to point out). This was a very nice experience
overall. (8.5/10)

• We Got the Power (feat. Jehnny Beth) (Pop) – This is one of the most generic songs I
have ever heard. Thank god it’s one of the shortest songs in the album. The beat is
good. The lyrics are incredibly cheesy and has an overly positive generic message. At
least with the previous songs that I mentioned that didn’t feel like they belonged in this
album. They at least could stand on their own as good songs. This is just bad. But, at the
very least, Jehnny Beth’s vocals were actually very good. I’m not even going to mention
2-D unless he’s absent from a song or something interesting happens in the song with
him because I always put down the same thing. This doesn’t save the song however
and it’s very close to Sweepstakes of being one of my least favourite Gorillaz songs
they’ve ever made. Highly annoying that out of all the songs they could’ve picked they
made this one a single. (5/10)

• The Apprentice (feat. Rag'n'Bone Man, Zebra Katz & RAY BLK) (R&B) – The beat to this
song was very nice and the lyrics were unique. Rag’n’Bone Man’s vocals were pretty
good. Ray BLK’s vocals were also pretty good. Zebra Katz’s rapping flowed well with
 30

the beat and he was nice to listen to. It does (sort of) feel like a Gorillaz song and it was
quite enjoyable. (7/10)

• Halfway to the Halfway House (feat. Peven Everett) (Electronic/R&B) – It was a nice
song. The beat was nice and the lyrics were unique for the 1st and 2nd verses before
getting incredibly repetitive. 2-D is completely absent (unfortunately) but Peven
Everett does do a nice job on the vocals and a choir does do a very nice job in the
chorus. It (admittedly) would be better if it was in another album but it was still a good
song. (7.5/10)

• Out of Body (feat. Kilo Kish, Zebra Katz & Imani Vonshà) (Pop) – This was a weird song.
The beat was okay and the lyrics are questionable but do fit with the theme of the song.
Kilo Kish did sound incredibly creepy but it did fit in with the song so it worked well.
Zebra Katz vocals were fine and suited the theme of the song. Imani Vonshà’s vocals
were also fine but I felt like she didn’t suit the creepy theme of the song. The song was
fine but I think it would’ve been better if it was in another album. (7/10)

• Ticker Tape (feat. Carly Simon & Kali Uchis) (Trip-Hop) – Immediately I get Plastic
Beach vibes from this. The beat is laid back and very nice and the lyrics are diverse.
Carly Simon’s vocals were fantastic and I really enjoyed the duet with Kali Uchis and 2-
D at the end. Not too much to say beyond that though but it was a good song and it
definitely feels like a Gorillaz song. (8/10)

• Circle of Friendz (feat. Brandon Markell Holmes) (R&B/Pop) - Although not my

favourite ending to a Gorillaz album (and I personally would’ve preferred Ticker Tape
to end the album) it’s still a good song to end an album. The beat is laid-back and very
nice but the lyrics are incredibly repetitive. Brandon Markell Holmes’ vocals are
beautiful and the choir at the end is also very nice. I can see why they put this at the end
of the album (because it would probably have been seen as filler otherwise) but it’s a
nice way to cap off a mixed album. (7.5/10)
 31

Now let’s see how the album averages out!

Average Percentage – 64%

This album has the lowest rating out of all the albums I have reviewed. Even
lower than The Fall! This is still a good album but it has a lot of songs that simply
doesn’t belong. It was mostly a mixed bag with some fantastic songs and some
bad/really bad songs. I also felt like it focused too much on the collaborators
(with every song featuring at least one collaborator) and as a result it produced a
very mixed album. I still really enjoyed parts of it though but I wouldn’t go out of
my way to listen to the entire album again.
 32

Chapter 1:5 The Now Now & Beyond

There were 5 singles released before the album. “Humility” and “Lake Zurich” were
both released on the 31st May 2018, “Sorcererz” was released on the 7th June 2018, “Fire
Flies” was released on the 14th June 2018 and “Hollywood” was released on the 21st June
2018. There was only one single to release after the album. “Tranz” was released on the
14th September 2018.

The album was released on the 28th June 2018. The album peaked #5 and #4 in the UK
and US charts respectively. The album only sold just over half what Humanz sold. It
only sold 330,000 copies worldwide. The reviews for this album were mostly positive.
With a 73/100 from Metacritic and 4/5 stars from The Guardian.

The Now Now is the shortest album Gorillaz has ever made (with only 11 songs in it) but
there’s a reason for that. The majority of the album was only recorded in one month.
This is also the reason it features fewer collaborations than most of the albums (which
I think is a good thing as Humanz featured too many collaborations and it turned a
potential positive to a critical flaw in the album). The Now Now is a good album. It
experiments more with Pop and Rock and it does it well without feeling off (which is
what Humanz failed to do).

“Humility” is a good, upbeat song with a good beat and some great vocals by George
Benson.” Lake Zurich” is mostly instrumental. It’s a nice and calm pop song with a very
nice beat and unique lyrics. “Sorcererz” has a nice beat but very repetitive lyrics.
“Hollywood” is a good song with a nice beat, unique lyrics and good vocals from Jamie
Principle and nice rapping from Snoop Dogg. “Tranz” is a song that I really enjoyed. The
beat is nice and positive and the lyrics are unique. Although the sound effects near the
end do sound a bit off it’s only near the end and doesn’t take away from the experience
from the majority of the song.

No new rules to add for this album so I’ll just get straight into it.
Starting with:
 33

• Humility (feat. George Benson) (Pop/Electronic) – A nice and upbeat start to the
album. George Benson vocals were great. The beat is very nice and positive and the
lyrics are unique. Not much to say about this one but I did enjoy it. (8/10)

• Tranz (Pop) – A good song. The beat was very nice but the lyrics did get repetitive
(especially near the end of the song). There’s also a very weird audio effect in 2-D’s
vocals in the middle of the song which just sounded weird and didn’t add anything to
the song. But it was still a decent song that I enjoyed a bit. (7/10)

• Hollywood (feat. Snoop Dogg & Jamie Principle) (Rap) – This was a nice collaboration
from Snoop Dogg & Jamie Principle. The beat is nice and the lyrics are questionable
again but it (again) reminds me of their debut album. Jamie Principle’s vocals were
good and Snoop Dogg’s rapping was nice and kept a nice flow with the beat. This is also
the longest song in the album (clocking in at 4:53) and it was good and enjoyable. (8/10)

• Kansas (Pop/Rock) – The beat is nice and calm but the chorus is repeated very often
throughout the song so the lyrics get repetitive fast. It was enjoyable but it did feel a bit
weak. Not much else to say about it! (7/10)

• Sorcererz (Pop/Rock) – A nice song. The beat is really good but the chorus (again) is
repeated very often leading to repetitive lyrics. It did feel stronger than Kansas but
again not much else to say about it. (7.5/10)

• Idaho (Pop) – Now this is a nice relaxing song. The beat is very calm and nice. The
lyrics are also diverse in this song. This is one of my favourites out of the entire album
simply because 2-D’s voice sounds the best in a calm beat and in a slow-paced style. I
liked this a lot! (8.5/10)

• Lake Zurich (Pop) – This song is mostly instrumental. The beat is nice. It’s unknown
who did the vocals in the middle of the song (some rumours say it’s Ben Mendelsohn
since he was a narrator for Humanz but it remains unconfirmed). It was a good song
but felt like it dragged out for a bit too long. (7.5/10)
 34

• Magic City (Pop/Rock) – A fantastic song. It has a calm beat and the lyrics are
somewhat unique. 2-D’s voice is at its absolute best out of all the album in this song.
It’s a close call between Idaho and this but this is my favourite song out of the entire
album. It was beautiful. (9/10)

• Fire Flies (Pop/Electronic) – This is a great song. It has a calm beat but the lyrics are
repetitive. 2-D’s voice sounds phenomenal in this song. A very nice song but not quite
my favourite. Still great though! (8/10)

• One Percent (Pop/Rock) – This is the shortest song in the album (clocking in at 2:21)
but it is very sweet. The beat is again calm and it’s incredibly slow-paced despite it
being the shortest song in the album. The lyrics are also unique too (although there
isn’t much there). A good song overall! (7.5/10)

• Souk Eye (Alternative-Pop) – The beat is very nice and the lyrics are unique.
Surprisingly, not much to say about this one but it was a nice conclusion to the shortest
album Gorillaz has ever produced. (8/10)

Now let’s see how the album averages out!

Average Percentage – 78%

This album scored surprisingly well (same score as Plastic Beach and their self-
titled album). But the main reason for that is that they had no bad songs but no
songs that I would say are legendary either. This album is just a good mix in terms
of song quality (actually staying consistently good for the entire album for the
first time in Gorillaz’s history). It still amazes me how they produced the majority
of it in only a month.
 35

And that’s all their albums (at least for now). This is where the band currently is now
and what will happen to it in the future.

• August 2018 - Damon was interviewed by Radio FM4 (an Austrian radio station) and
he said this: “I have another one [Gorillaz record] as well, but I know I’m not gonna be
allowed to even think about recording or putting it out this year,” which confirms that
another Gorillaz album is indeed going to be working on.

• September 2018 – Damon announces that he will no longer be doing pop music. This is
what he told The Mirror "[I want to] sort of disappear from pop music and go a bit into
new territory for a few years,”

• October 2018 – Damon announces that Gorillaz won’t be going on tour for another 10
years. Which could mean there won’t be another album for another 10 years. This is
what Damon said on the matter “Well, we’re going to have to even it out. Since there
wasn’t much time between these recent two records it’s probably going to be another
10 years... Mid-September 2028, so please come and see us now.” The Now Now tour
ended on the 24th October 2018.

Since then we’ve heard nothing from Damon or Jamie on the matter. There could be no
Gorillaz album for 10 years but Damon is known for making stuff up about this so… who
knows?
 36

And that’s the end of the first chapter, been quite the ride for the real history of
Gorillaz. The ride is about to get crazier though as we haven’t looked at the canonical
history of the band yet (yes there’s an official fictional story for the band). And it’s
certainly an interesting story of the following: kidnapping, cheating, murder, several
breakups and more. So, let’s not waste any more time and get straight into it.

Chapter 2 – The band’s canonical history

Chapter 2:1 Celebrity Takedown

The story begins on the 15th August 1997. Stuart Pot was a mentally deficient keyboard
enthusiast and worked part-time at Uncle Norm’s Organ Emporium. Murdoc Niccals
decided to go try and rob Uncle Norm’s Organ Emporium to get a synthesizer to
establish a “chart-topping” musical group. Unfortunately, Murdoc managed to crash
his Vauxhall Astra straight through the building and right into Stuart Pot’s head
permanently fracturing his left eye and putting him in a catatonic state.

Murdoc was sentenced to 30,000 hours of community service and must spend 10 hours
every week taking care of Stuart Pot. Not long after, Murdoc got into a car accident
with Stuart Pot in the car. This time, he was in Nottingham’s Tesco car-park when
attempting to do 360° rotations to impress some women. During the first rotation, he
was thrown through the windscreen and landed face first on the curb. This
permanently fractured his other eye but was completely out of his catatonic state.
Murdoc was impressed by Stuart Pot’s new look, recruited him as a keyboardist and a
vocalist in his new band and nicknamed him 2-D (because of the fractures in his eyes).

In September 1998, Murdoc purchased Kong Studios. A haunted studio with a shady
history, it was on a hill on top of an abandoned cemetery and landfill in Districtshire,
Essex.

Murdoc then found a drummer in another record store called Big Rick Black’s Record
Shack in London. His name was Russel Hobbs! While asking Russel for an obscure 50s
record he slipped a bag over his head and forced him out of the shop. Murdoc took
Russel back to Kong Studios and Russel (being impressed on what he was working on)
decided to stay.
 37

All the group needed now was a guitarist. They originally had one too! 2-D’s girlfriend
Paula Cracker. She was shortly dismissed though as she was caught by Russel having
an affair with Murdoc in the Kong Studios’ toilets. Russel broke Murdoc’s nose five
times because of this and then placed an advertisement in NME trying to get a guitarist.
The very same day they put the ad up, a FedEx crate from Japan arrived on the band’s
doorstep. An 8-year-old girl jumped out of the crate and tore into a “riff to end all riffs”
which ended in a karate kick in the air. She then spoke one word in English: “Noodle”.
The band was finally assembled! They changed their name to Gorillaz and started
making songs.

On the 5th November 1998, they played their first show in Camden Brownhouse. Which
ended prematurely due to a riot during their song “Punk”. EMI A&R man Whiffy Smiffy
discharged several rounds from a shotgun to: disperse the crowd, get onto the stage
and signed them to the label.

From February 23rd – March 11th, 2002, they went on an 11-month tour of North America.
After the tour ended, they took a six-month break in L.A where they attempted to get a
Gorillaz movie project off the ground. They did their last gig in an MTV Festival in
Portugal on July 20th. Meanwhile, Kong Studios was shut down tight by authorities due
to the owner’s absence and an unknown man was spotted running around naked in the
marshes near the studio. The police secured the area to investigate the strange
activities surrounding Kong Studios, Gorillaz rented a home in the Hollywood Hills and
continued working on the movie.

Alas, the movie never got off the ground. Due to extensive over-partying, in-fighting
and disagreements with the producers and directors. Murdoc also got himself banned
from the Playboy Mansion because he kept stealing ashtrays. Gorillaz did try to make a
movie but everyone was too busy doing drugs and hanging out with celebrities. Murdoc
nearly got on a TV Show but was replaced last minute. He almost killed 2-D because it
became too much and the band went their separate ways on a year and a half hiatus.
 38

Chapter 2:2 Slowboat to Hades

2-D went back to Eastbourne and worked in his father’s funfair, this is where his ego
got a significant boost and has accepted his now pop icon status with the ladies.

Russel remained in L.A where he got increasingly haunted by the Grim Reaper, who
eventually banished Del from his body. Luckily, he was approached by Ike Turner who
offered him sanctuary in his basement to recover.

Murdoc headed to Mexico to booze it up and got himself arrested in the process due to
passing bad checks. He got little company in his jail cell except from his raven called
Cortez and two Mexican mobsters who would later break him out.

Noodle went back to Japan to uncover the secrets about her past after having
nightmares and visions about it on the Gorillaz Tour. In Japan, she reunited with her
mentor Mr Kyuzo and learnt that she was apart of a secret government project and she
could speak English fluently. Armed with the new knowledge and iron resolve, she
went back to Kong Studios and she was tasked with getting rid of the zombie and
monster infestation, set up a “Search For A Star” contest and started getting the band
back together.

Noodle decided to write her own album, “Demon Days” and the first song she wrote
was “DARE”, then recorded it which would be the first music video she starred in. She
felt like Murdoc was showing off for the “Feel Good Inc.” music video so she decided to
record it on her own. Noodle thought the other members were also being too silly.
Russel and 2-D heard her from upstairs and in the bathroom because the music was
so loud. Noodle then plays a prank on Murdoc at the end of the video where she takes
the camera into the Winnebago whilst he is sleeping.

Around 2006, Noodle wanted to take a break from Gorillaz. She had planned to leave
after filming “El Mañana”. This is where Jimmy Manson comes in. He auditioned to be a
guitarist for Gorillaz but was rejected by Murdoc. Years later, he became the head of the
Gorillaz label stateside. During the production of “El Mañana”, he was approached by
Murdoc and teamed up with him. The plan was that Murdoc would hide guns in the
windmill tower on the floating island, Jimmy would hide in there, wait until the
 39

helicopters started firing, Jimmy would then come out of hiding, get the guns, kill
Noodle and parachute off the island. But as the helicopters fired Jimmy realised that he
had been tricked and there were no guns and he’d been locked in the tower. While
Noodle parachuted off the island safely. The island ended up crashing, was burned and
was blown up. He was killed in the process.

Gorillaz has an autobiography called “Rise of the Ogre”. Why is this relevant? Because
this is what Murdoc said about the initial plan in the autobiography: "There's no way on
earth I'm killing Noodle. Are you mad? She's Noodle. We're Gorillaz! The greatest band
on earth. I'm arrogant, ruthless even, but I'm not stupid. I'm not having some two-bit
mouldy despot record company nut killing off my band. No way, Jose. That clown got
what he deserved...He set himself up and burned all the evidence in the process. Instant
Karma for Mr Jimmy Manson." 2-D and Russel searched for Noodle but she is nowhere
to be seen.

Later that year, Noodle’s voice was heard in radio at the Brain Room at the ruins of Kong
Studios. Murdoc attempted to travel to hell to get her back but failed. The “rescue
attempt” was then revealed to be a drunken stupor.
 40

Chapter 2:3 Escape to Plastic Beach

Murdoc spent the next few years going around the world. In 2008, he began to run low
on money, so he burnt down the ruins of Kong Studios, cashed in on the insurance
money, blamed the fire on some kids and fled the country. He did also mention another
reason to flee the country. A deadly underground network of pirates known as the
“Black Clouds” was out to kill Murdoc after their business deal went south.

Whilst he was searching for a new hideout, Murdoc found an island in the middle of the
ocean completely made out of landfill stuck together. Murdoc decided to spray the
island and use the insurance money to build a new Gorillaz HQ on top. He renamed the
island to “Plastic Beach”. Not long after he built the HQ on top of the island, Murdoc
began production of the third album but he had to reassemble his bandmates.
According to a pelican on the band’s website, Plastic Beach was the furthest point than
any land mass in the world. Dubbing it “Point Nemo”.

Murdoc said that he tried to recover clues to Noodle’s whereabouts. But all he found
was a DNA Sample. He later used the sample to make a more violent cyborg version of
Noodle, who would act as his bodyguard. Noodle, however, is alive confirmed by her
appearances in the “On Melancholy Hill” music video and the “Rhinestone Eyes”
storyboard. She is also being hunted in a similar matter to Murdoc but the reason is
unknown.

Meanwhile, 2-D was gassed, kidnapped in his Beruit retreat and was taken to Plastic
Beach in a suitcase. He believes Murdoc was the one who kidnapped him (which who
could blame him) but it was actually the Boogieman who was his kidnapper.

Little was known about Russel initially, as Murdoc mentioned he had just dropped off
the face of the earth. Murdoc uses a drum machine built from Russel’s equipment to
provide percussion for the album. Finally, it was revealed (on their website) that
Russel stomped down a fishing dock in a rage and jumped into the ocean. When the
album dropped and artwork debuted it depicted Russel as a giant. In the “Making of
Plastic Beach” documentary Jamie explains that Russel in swimming the entire way to
 41

Plastic Beach, ingested so much pollution, trash and toxic waste that he was
transformed into a giant. On the way to Plastic Beach, Russel finds the sea-stranded
Noodle and rescues her, and together they continue on to be reunited with the band.

Murdoc and 2-D proceed to make their way to Plastic Beach via a road trip to the ocean
in a 1969 Camaro SS (dubbed ‘Stylo’). Murdoc and 2-D get attacked by Bruce Willis.
Cyborg Noodle is rendered completely useless because of a bullet through her head.
Willis opens fire resulting in a car chase that makes the Stylo music video. Murdoc
drives them off into the ocean where the car turns into a shark-shaped submarine.

Murdoc, 2-D, the newly recovered Cyborg Noodle and all the collaborators all make
their way to Point Nemo. Travelling alongside each other in underwater vehicles. Upon
arriving, there is a thick fog Murdoc spots the Boogieman and orders Cyborg Noodle to
open fire. The Boogieman escapes, leaving the fog to disappear and reveals Plastic
Beach.

From October 3rd – December 21st, Gorillaz went on their very first world tour; “The
Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour.” Unfortunately, Murdoc, 2-D and Cyborg Noodle
spend the entire tour locked in the dressing room whilst the “live band” took over. The
“live band” consisted of Damon and half of The Clash. Murdoc suspected that when he
refused to give his soul for making Gorillaz successful, he kept the real Gorillaz out of
the shows and gave the glory to the Gorillaz live band. It was also Satan who sent out
the Boogieman to track down Murdoc and claim his soul.

During the American leg of the tour, 2-D had been working on a new collection of
music on his iPad. He had been experimenting with new sounds and apps in various
locations during the tour, including his hotel room, backstage in the dressing rooms
and in back of the tour bus.

The storyboard for “Rhinestone Eyes” reveals that the Boogieman has a grudge
against Murdoc due to a deal they made. He is seen representing “Black Cloud” in the
video, as he is seen summoning the live band, as well as planes similar to the ones that
attacked Noodle, to raid Plastic Beach in an attempt to kill Murdoc. The album’s
collaborators and Cyborg Noodle arm themselves and retaliate while Murdoc hides
 42

for safety. Meanwhile, 2-D is frightened by the fact a whale is shown ramming the
underside of the island during the battle. However, just before it closes its jaws around
the underwater window of 2-D’s bedroom Russel appears and hurls the whale into an
enemy plane, destroying it. Russel then leans over to the beach to reveal the real
Noodle. Noodle then takes off the mask revealing the scars around her eye. According
to an interview with Murdoc Noodle ended up killing Cyborg Noodle when she suffered
a malfunction and tried to kill Murdoc. This was later revealed to be a lie (I’ll explain
what actually happened in the next phase). The Boogieman managed to invade Plastic
Beach but Murdoc faked his death with a fake Murdoc and he escaped whilst the
Boogieman collected the wrong soul.

Whilst escaping Plastic Beach, Murdoc managed to get caught up in a typhoon and
managed to land in Hawaii. There, he began to record a radio show to celebrate
Gorillaz’s Ten Year anniversary. It later turned out that he wasn’t in Hawaii but he was
instead in a ransacked house in London, where the other three band members
managed to reach out to him.

In late 2011, the four remaining band members were seen living in 212 Wooble Street,
London (as seen in the “DoYaThing” music video). It is revealed that most of Noodle’s
facial injuries had healed, the Boogieman is also revealed to be alive and is now living
with the band, Russel is later seen sleeping on the roof and 2-D gets a letter saying
that the band is being evicted from their residence. The floating windmill island from El
Mañana can also be seen in a state of disrepair and anchored to the roof.
 43

Chapter 2:4 We Are Still Humanz

In this phase, each band member got “The Book of *insert name here*” about them
explaining what happened and how they reunited. It does contradict the previous
chapter but I’m going to roll with it anyway.

• The Book of Murdoc – During the attack of Plastic Beach, Murdoc escaped with Cyborg
Noodle in a submarine. On his way home to England, Murdoc was captured by EMI, the
now-defunct former publisher for Gorillaz. EMI had been searching the globe for
Murdoc, who they threw in “Dungeon Abbey”, a secret prison beneath Abbey Road
Studios. Murdoc was eventually released under the condition that he had to
immediately work on a new Gorillaz album. Murdoc agreed and he moved into a new
studio/home in West London.

• The Book of Noodle – Shortly after the attack on Plastic Beach, Noodle awoke in a
small Japanese village and began working as a pearl diver under the apprenticeship of
Chiyoko, the women who had nursed her back to health after finding her washed up on
the Japanese shore. While working one day, Noodle had accidentally released Mazuu,
a shape-shifting devil that had spent 500 years trapped in a large pearl at the bottom of
the ocean. Noodle spent years chasing Mazuu, eventually finding it in Tokyo disguised
as a human, having risen the criminal underworld. Noodle infiltrated Mazuu’s
headquarters, decapitated Mazuu and managed to escape in one piece. She packaged
herself in a FedEx crate and addressed it to “West London, England, c/o Murdoc
Niccals”.

• The Book of Russel – Whilst escaping Plastic Beach with Noodle, Russel managed to
get separated off the coast of Japan. Russel had been mistaken for a whale (due to his
large size). He was harpooned but managed to escape. He had lost consciousness and
washed up on the shores of North Korea, Russel was then carried to Pyongyang and
exhibited as “Pulgasari”, North Korea’s “Godzilla”. Russel became the country’s most
popular attraction before shrinking back to normal size due to malnutrition, he was
sent back to London and moved in with Murdoc’s home to create a new Gorillaz album.

• The Book of 2-D – During the attack of Plastic Beach, 2-D was swallowed whole by
“Massive Dick”, the whale terrified him throughout the time on the island. Shortly after,
 44

Massive Dick died and was washed up on the shore of a desert island. 2-D emerged
from the whale’s carcass and spent months surviving purely off Massive Dick’s dead
body, he eventually realised he was actually on Guadalupe Island off the coast of
Mexico. He walked thirty minutes before managing to find a beach resort and spent the
rest of the year there on vacation before finally heading home to England. He was then
picked up by Murdoc and was reunited with the band.

The band recorded throughout 2016 in Murdoc’s new studio in London, finally
completing their first album in 7 years. In 2017, Murdoc decided to release the album by
throwing “the party to end all parties” in a haunted house in Detroit known as the “Spirit
House”. When they arrived at the house in the “Saturnz Barz” music video, they got
haunted by three demons. A giant one-eyed blue worm haunted Noodle, a grey multi-
limbed monster-haunted Russel and a pizza slice with a face haunted 2-D. In the
“Strobelite” music video, Noodle and 2-D have fun dancing at a party, Russel sleeps
and Murdoc does shady business with a mysterious man at a bar (this will be
important later).

The band went on a world tour, and even created their own festival called the Demon
Dayz Festival. The first of which takes place in Margate, England in June 2017. Before
Gorillaz took the stage, a mysterious cult called the “Kool Klown Klan” were spotted
holding bells and marching. Little is known about the cult.

In February 2018, the band won the Brit Award for Best British Band. While attempting
to accept his award, Murdoc was arrested and taken to HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs
in London for an undisclosed crime.
 45

Chapter 2:5 No More Unicorns Anymore

The band decided to continue the momentum that they had in 2017 and release a new
album in 2018. The band hired Ace of The Powerpuff Girls to temporarily replace
Murdoc as bassist while he was serving time in prison and released their new album.

While the band embarked on their 2018 tour, Murdoc began planning his escape from
prison. Murdoc claimed that the man who he met at the bar in the “Strobelite” video
was actually a demon crime-lord named “El Mierda”, who framed him for smuggling.
Murdoc decided to escape the prison and track down El Mierda, but he couldn’t bribe
his way out since Noodle decided to freeze his bank account, thinking he was guilty of
smuggling. He decided to pick a fight with “Big Balls McGuinness” (one of the toughest
prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs) as he believed it would give him the respect, he
needed to get inside info on El Mierda. After losing the fight to Big Balls, he set his
sights on “Vlad the Inhaler”, an associate of El Mierda. Murdoc recruited a fan to catfish
Vlad, getting close enough to him to find the whereabouts of El Mierda. Astonishingly,
this worked, and Murdoc now has the coordinates that he believed to be the crime
lord’s hideout in Patagonia.

Murdoc finally got Noodle to help him (after ignoring countless calls from him). She
only agreed to help him out after realizing the demon El Mierda is a soul harvester and
may have taken 2-D’s soul, noting he hasn’t been acting like himself for months.
Convinced that Murdoc knows about this, she refuses to do it for Murdoc’s sake but
instead for 2-D’s sake. Noodle set off to Patagonia to take on El Mierda herself. A week
later, Noodle reported that she was safe; still embarking on her trip to El Mierda’s
hideout, being shown the way by some Andean mountain cats after getting “kinda lost”,
However, due to complications, Murdoc decided to escape through the sewers. In a
turn for the worst, he was assumed to have drowned in the sewage whilst trying to
escape. Meanwhile, the rest of the band were enjoying the success of their new album,
releasing a new music video for the song “Tranz”.

Two weeks later, Noodle arrived at the coordinates Murdoc had discovered, but
instead of a secret hideout, the coordinates instead led into a health spa. She met El
Mierda, who had given up his life of crime years prior, converting his evil liar into the El
 46

Montaña Wellness Centre. Notably, she discovered that El Mierda was not the man that
Murdoc met in the “Strobelite” video, but was, in fact, an immortal old man who had
never even heard of Murdoc. Noodle then decided to research the details of Murdoc’s
incarceration to discover he was not sent to prison for smuggling but for simple
parking fines. He was only meant to serve nine months and would have been released
the same day he supposedly drowned in the sewers. Noodle discovered that Murdoc
had greatly over-exaggerated the nature of his imprisonment, blaming his crime on
the man from the “Strobelite” video, who turned out to only be an innocent leather
salesman named Juan.

Moments later, a yak arrived at the El Montaña Wellness Centre. Noodle went to
investigate to find Murdoc tied to the top of the yak. It turned out Murdoc was simply
acting out for attention, making up an imprisonment story that he described as “mostly
bollocks”. But as his story grew more outlandish, he felt like he needed to continue
making appearances, resulting in an unnecessary prison escape that almost got him
killed. The only clue to why he survived was a mysterious person or thing he saw in the
sewer, which he later sketched out. His near-death experience gave him the
realisation that making headlines wasn’t worth lying and putting Noodle in
unnecessary danger.

He decided to meet Noodle at El Mierda’s hideout, tying himself to a yak he named

Madge after Madonna. Murdoc was even prepared to sacrifice himself to save her if it
was necessary, luckily it was unnecessary and when he arrived, the two simply spent
a few days at the health spa while Murdoc apologised for his actions. After learning
the true nature of El Mierda, the two discussed 2-D enjoying his new-found confidence
without Murdoc around to abuse him, or as Murdoc put it, “just missing me”. When
Noodle and Murdoc returned to the band, Murdoc vowed to be a better man and joined
them on the final leg of the tour.
 47

Conclusion

I believe there is a core thing that makes Gorillaz stand out from the mainstream.

And that core thing is… it is not afraid to experiment with genres and with the music it
makes. With each album having a unique style to it.

Gorillaz – Their first album feels like one massive experiment. It tests what works and
what doesn’t with several completely different genres packed into one album. Sure, it
brought some bad songs (which is to be expected for a first album and with an
experiment) but it also brought some of my favourite songs the band has ever made.
The highlights for me were: “Clint Eastwood”, “19-2000”, “Rock the House”, “Tomorrow
Comes Today” and “Punk”.

Demon Days – This feels like a more refined version of their self-titled album. It
doesn’t experiment as much but it doesn’t need to. It’s found what works and makes
some fantastic songs with it. Of course, the experimentation isn’t completely gone. “O
Green World” serves that purpose and it’s okay. But it is an improvement over their
self-titled album. The highlights for me were: “Feel Good Inc.”, “DARE”, “Kids with
Guns”, “Dirty Harry” and “Demon Days”.

Plastic Beach – This album I felt was a complete shake-up of the style they had for the
past two albums. Normally when an artist shakes up their style it either ends up
working very well or it falls apart. For Gorillaz, it works very well! They had
experimented with Electronic music a bit in their self-titled album and Demon Days
(and it’s ended up quite well). It was a very nice change of pace and it definitely was
executed very well for the most part. Highlights for me were: “Empire Ants”,
“Rhinestone Eyes”, “On Melancholy Hill”, “Pirate Jet” and “Cloud of Unknowing”.

The Fall – This album definitely did experiment a lot in this album and managed away
from what Gorillaz would normally produce (thus there are some songs that simply
don’t belong). It was a mediocre album overall but it definitely did have very good
songs. All the songs are electronic (since it has all been produced on an iPad). But it
does still manage to sprinkle in other genres of music (like lo-fi and trip-hop) and
 48

some tracks are surprisingly good to say that it was all recorded on an iPad. Most of
the songs in the album also seamlessly transition together and I love that. Shame that
no other album does it as much as this album. The highlights for me were: “Bobby in
Phoenix”, “Little Pink Plastic Bags”, “Hillbilly Man”, “California & The Slipping of The
Sun” and “Shy-Town”.

Humanz – This is a weird album. On one hand, I can appreciate it has branched out to
more genres than The Fall and Plastic Beach. But it features way too many
collaborations and feels more like *insert collaborator here ft. Gorillaz* instead of the
other way around. Of course, not all songs in the album are like this. But it’s a shame at
the number of songs that are in the album that are genuinely good. But would be better
off in the collaborator’s own album. The highlights for me were: “Saturnz Barz”,
“Busted and Blue”, “Hallelujah Money”,” Let me Out” and “Ascension”.

The Now Now – This has a more upbeat vibe (and it works well). There are no songs in
the album that I would call bad but no songs that I would call legendary either. It’s just a
short but a very sweet album. Not much else to say about this album but it was
enjoyable. The highlights for me were: “Magic City”, “Idaho”, “Humility”, “Hollywood” and
“Seouk Eye”.

There were definitely highs and lows for the band but this does show they’re not afraid
to experiment (even if the outcome is overall mediocre). And it’s this experimentation
that has led to some of the best songs the band has ever produced. This also shows
each album does have its own style.

It also stepped in on a period of time where nobody took virtual bands seriously.
Before Gorillaz came, there were virtual bands were Alvin and the Chipmunks and The
Archies. Both were family friendly and when they went to become worldwide hits.
Nobody took them seriously. But as soon as Gorillaz released their debut album in
2001 they proved just because you’re animated doesn’t mean you have to be family
friendly and critics really liked it. It was even some critics top album of that year!
 49

I do believe the success of Gorillaz made the music industry as a whole take virtual
bands more seriously and because of that, there are more virtual bands than ever
before now.

I had never seen a band experiment this much with their music and make instant
classics, jump straight into a type of band that nobody took seriously and completely
shred the stereotype while making the critics and audience happy, make albums
completely different from each other in some way and always come out with at least a
couple of tracks people can like or fall in love with, take so many twists and turns in a
song yet it blends in so well and makes the song unique.

I’m sure I can go praising all day of how Gorillaz unique but I don’t need to.

As I’ve answered the key question of the essay.

What makes Gorillaz so unique.

 50

Bibliography

Introduction:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Albarn

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Hewlett

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillaz

• https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/gorillaz/gorillaz-called-gorillaz-reason-name/

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Murdoc

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/2-D

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Noodle

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Russel_Hobbs

Chapter 1 – The band’s real history:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillaz_(album)

• http://www.vblurpage.com/info/chartography/sales_albums.htm

• https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/sep/03/1

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Days

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillaz#Demon_Days_(2004–06)

• https://www.lostmediawiki.com/Gorillaz_-
_Celebrity_Harvest_(cancelled_animated_film_based_on_British_virtual_band;_early_2000s)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Beach

• https://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/2010-inevitable-fall-and-destruction-emi

• http://bit.ly/2DuoNae
 51

• https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/405569/Damon-Albarn-I-made-20-from-
Gorillaz-world-tour

• https://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/419042.html

• https://youtu.be/1-iPq3qWeQQ

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillaz#Plastic_Beach_and_The_Fall_(2007%E2%80%9313)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_(Gorillaz_album)

• https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-69-1294577

• https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/07/damon-albarn-gorillaz-heroin-blur

• https://diffuser.fm/jamie-hewlett-talks-gorillaz-split-future-projects/

• https://www.nme.com/news/music/blur-196-1275263

• https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-16-1272934

• http://bit.ly/2URVMjr

• http://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillaz_to_hit_studio_this_fall

• https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-5-1193138

• http://bit.ly/2W3odHq

• http://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillaz_share_mysterious_timeline_on_instagram

• http://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillaz_reveal_new_album_humanz_via_instagram

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Now_Now

• https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-gorillaz-album-in-the-works-damon-albarn-
interview-the-now-now-2371278

• https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/damon-albarn-announces-hes-quitting-
13330276
 52

• https://mixmag.net/read/damon-albarn-says-gorillaz-wont-tour-again-until-2028-news

Chapter 2 – The band’s canonical history:

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Backstory

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Jimmy_Manson

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Cyborg_Noodle

• https://gorillaz.fandom.com/wiki/Boogieman

Conclusion:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_band#Early_history

• https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/our-critics-top-albums-of-2001-191912/