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Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Release Date: 2001 04 24
Label: Parlophone
Rating:

It's tempting to judge Gorillaz -- Damon Albarn, Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett, and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura's virtual band -- just by their brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of style over substance. Admittedly, Hewlett's edgy-cute characterizations of 2-D, Gorillaz' pretty boy singer (who looks a cross between the Charlatans' Tim Burgess and Sonic the Hedgehog), sinister bassist Murdoc, whiz-kid guitarist Noodle, and b-boy drummer Russel are so arresting that they almost detract from Gorillaz' music. The amazing "Thriller"-meets-Planet of the Apes clip for "Clint Eastwood" is so visually clever that it's easy to take the song's equally clever, hip-hop-tinged update of the Specials' "Ghost Town" for granted. And initially, Gorillaz' self-titled debut feels incomplete when Hewlett's imagery is removed; the concept of Gorillaz as a virtual band doesn't hold up as well when you can't see the virtual bandmembers. It's too bad that there isn't a DVD version of Gorillaz, with videos for every song, à la the DVD version of Super Furry Animals' =Rings Around the World. Musically, however, Gorillaz is a cutely caricatured blend of Albarn's eclectic Brit-pop and Nakamura's equally wide-ranging hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the band looks. Albarn has fun sending up Blur's cheeky pop on songs like "5/4" and "Re-Hash," their trip-hop experiments on "New Genious" and "Sound Check," and "Song 2"-like thrash-pop on "Punk" and "M1 A1." Despite the similarities between Albarn's main gig and his contributions here, Gorillaz isn't an Albarn solo album in disguise; Nakamura's bass- and beat-oriented production gives the album an authentically dub and hip-hop-inspired feel, particularly on "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today." Likewise, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Miho Hatori, and Ibrahim Ferrer's vocals ensure that it sounds like a diverse collaboration rather than an insular side project. Instead, it feels like a musical vacation for all parties involved -- a little self-indulgent, but filled with enough fun ideas and good songs to make this virtual band's debut a genuinely enjoyable album. Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Re-Hash	Gorillaz	3:38
2	5/4	Gorillaz	2:40
3	Tomorrow Comes Today	Gorillaz	3:13
4	New Genious (Brother)	Gorillaz	3:58
5	Clint Eastwood	Gorillaz	5:40
6	Man Research (Clapper)	Gorillaz	4:33
7	Punk	Gorillaz	1:36
8	Sound Check (Gravity)	Gorillaz	4:41
9	Double Bass	Gorillaz	4:45
10	Rock the House	Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Automator, Gorillaz	4:09
11	19-2000	Gorillaz	3:28
12	Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)	Villa, Gorillaz	3:37
13	Starshine	Gorillaz	3:31
14	Slow Country	Gorillaz	3:36
15	M1 A1	Gorillaz	10:42
16	Dracula	Gorillaz	4:42
17	Left Hand Suzuki Method	Gorillaz	10:01