Gorillaz

Certainly a unique sound but I found the slow constant beat of the snare drum was something akin to torture. Some interesting mix of styles going on but not something I would go back to.

Must admit I was never a Gorillaz fan. Some of this sounds like wonky Blur, and the rest I wasn't too keen on. I actually got quite bored towards the end. I don't think it has done anything to change my opinion.

Solid album from start to finish

Have always been a fan and this is a solid album. The hits/singles are big ones in my view. A little bit of filler, however overall a good flow to the album, a lot of variety and an enjoyable listen.

Well this is a bit of nostalgia. You can definitely hear Blur in some of the tracks with just Alburn involved, but add in the collaborations and there's a lot going on. Not sure that I'd be putting any of the non singles on a playlist, but as a whole, very enjoyable.

This album is not really cohesive, but its still pretty good.

When they're on, they're my favorite

What a bummer to discover that the only Gorillaz album in this collection is their debut album, which is by far the weakest of the lot. I guess it makes sense, since the editors seem to really like Damon Albarn, but probably only in his Blur days, and so this was the lone bone they threw to Gorillaz. Ah well; at least Gorillaz made it into the mix, unlike a lot of other artists and bands that didn't even make the cut. My favorites are the tracks I know pretty well--"Tomorrow comes today", their instant classic "Clint Eastwood", the strangely catchy "19-2000", and "Slow country"--and I enjoyed seeing the (animated) videos that accompanied a lot of them (especially the great video for the middling "Rock the house"). I also enjoyed a few others I wasn't all that familiar with, like "5/4" and "Double bass". I was also struck by how much they seemed to be channeling sounds like Portishead or trip hop bands on some tracks; very different from later releases. Even though this particular album isn't likely to turn on too many people to Gorillaz, It's kind of fun to hear Damon Albarn and company stretching their legs with this album, starting to grow into their "virtual" personas that seem much more defined and engaging in later albums like "Demon Days" and "Plastic Beach". And I'm so glad to finally find out why the Gorillaz animated videos looked so familiar: they were drawn/animated by Jamie Hewlett, of "Tank Girl" fame.

I really like the Clint Eastwood song, as well as the general concept of a virtual band, but most of the songs didn't really grab me.

Not in my edition of the book! 2001. 1 star. Blur outtakes. Fine if you like Damon Albarn, which I don't. One can only hope he sticks to collecting fossils instead of producing inexplicably popular shit like this.

Not really interesting, background music

This was good album, but it’s another one of those ones where I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Like I said, it’s good, and some tracks are even very good/great, but it seems like people really rave about the Gorillaz and I don’t know why after listening to this. Again, really good, and I really enjoyed it, but didn’t quite live up to the hype.

"Gorillaz" is the debut studio album by English virtual band (bandmembers depicted as animated characters or virtual avatars) Gorillaz. Trip hop, alternative rock, dub and lo-fi are the Wiki-listed genres. The band was created by flatmates Blur musician Damon Albarn and comic book creator Jamie Hewlett while watching MTV and getting the idea of a comic book band. The band consisted of Albarn (vocals, keyboards, piano, melodic, guitar, bass, flute, drum programming), Junior Dan (bass), Jason Cox (drums, drum programming), Dan the Automator (sampled loops, drum programming, synthesizers), Tom Girling (drum programming) and Kid Koala (turntables). A number of other collaborators contributed. The album had generally positive reviews and was a major commercial success reaching #3 in the UK and #14 in the US. The album opens with "Re-Hash." Drum beats, acoustic guitar, a buzz sound and quirky synth sounds. Albarn with deadpan vocals. Miho Hatori on backing vocals giving this a pop vibe. This sounds a lot like Beck. A promising start. The fourth of four singles "Tomorrow Comes Today" has trip hop beats, an upfront bass line and harmonica sound. Dreamy vocals and more weird synth sounds. "Clint Eastwood" was named after the actor since the music reminded the band of "The Good, Bad and Ugly" theme. More of the trip hop beat, strings and the melody a sample of the Omnichord Om-300 instrument. Del the Funky Homosapien contributing rap verses. Still one of their most famous songs. "Rock the House" uses a a sample of the "Modesty Blaise" theme by John Dankforth for the beats and the horn sound. A jazzy vibe. Funky Del involved again. Have a good time. "19-2000" has a grinding synth, computer-sounding keys and a beat samples from "If I Needed Someone" by Bit 'A' Sweet. A song about going into 2000's from the 1900's. A lot of these songs are anchored by a trip hop beat. Random synth noises give this album that comic book or gimmicky vibe they might have been looking for. There's variety in the styles of the songs: rock, punk, country, jazz, Latin and hip hop. The album can be all of the place with the synth houses, instruments and styles. Sometimes, it feels like they're throwing stuff at walls to see what sticks. However, it is a fun album and there's some very good songs. For that, I recommend this for a listen. I think their next two albums, "Demon Days" and "Plastic Beach" are more focused and better and would lean towards them if you want to check out Gorillaz.

This was super fun! 5

Fun! 5

I GOT TICKETS TODAY! also this album was very enjoyable x

Didn’t spend too much time with this one at the time. I determined that the album is the perfect soundtrack for decorating the yard for Halloween. High praise indeed.

I like this album a lot, and I don't think Damon Albarn always gets the credit he deserves for being one of Britain's best and most consistently adventurous songwriters. But if there's only room for one Gorillaz album on this list, this wouldn't have been my pick.

Meh. Not bad but nothing particularly spectacular either.

Some of the songs giving me strong 80s vibe although that might have more to do with the fact that the 80s are the last time I used to just listen to a whole album instead mixes or radio. Only song I've heard before was 19-2000 and Clint Eastwood. Man, I really love 19-2000. I also dug the vibe of Double Bass. A much more chill sounding album that I was expecting.

A little weird, some beats that slap. It was okay.

never ever have i understand the hype around them

Classic

All amazing always!

Some solid tracks but not as amazing as I remember from when it released

A really good album. I knew the hits off the album but hadn't listened to the rest. I liked it.

One thing I admire about the Gorillaz is their dedication to defy the norms in their albums. This album went from trip hop, to punk, to rap,to funk etc theres a lot packed in this album that set the stage for what they would later release.

This took me back to my days in high school. This album was everywhere, touched everything. As good now was it was then. Maybe a bit long but a must listent

Always in my Spotify Lists

super

Bold - it hits more often than it misses

A strange choice. The stuff sounds like a deliberate piss take and really could be ignored.

I’m only familiar with 2 Gorillaz songs, Feels Good Inc. and Clint Eastwood. After listening to the Gorillaz album, I think I will stick to those two songs. It’s not bad music, but it isn’t great either. I don’t resonate with them as much as other artists, so about halfway through the album, it felt like a drag.

One of my favorite albums from one of my favorite bands. Super original and creative.

Classic

I've listened to this before in my teens, so a lot of my listen so far is revisiting those memories. I think I had this on my first ever MP3 player.

Shamefully, I have never really listened to Gorillaz, despite generally knowing about them. I actually liked this better than I thought I would. Some of the styles were not really my favorite, but overall it was enjoyable. Slow Country was definitely the highlight for me.

Although it's not a completely even album in terms of back-to-front quality, I remember when this first came out and just how original and unlike anything else it felt. Seeing the video for "Clint Eastwood" for the first time on MTV was pretty mind blowing and that song is still the high water mark for me - Del's verses are incredible, the production is moody, and just creates the sort of dark creeping unease that maybe it is "all in your head". You can still hear Blur in some of the songs but this is clearly Damon's outlet for his weirder impulses to mess with sounds and genres and it does make for a super interesting listen. I also love Dan the Automator and his sort of old-school hip hop production leanings, and can see how this connects to Deltron 3030 (another personal favorite) as well. Tomorrow Comes Today is another highlight that I just love the atmosphere of. Overall certainly not a perfect album but a very enjoyable listen.

So this one is pretty interesting to get on the backs of a week with TERRIBLE vocals and lots of discordant punk sounds. Because Gorillaz has a good bit of that too — but I really like it. So it’s interesting to think what’s different for me: - I know this album, so connects with my high school / college years. - lots more experimental beats, hip hop, rather than generic driving punk style guitar/bass - Clint Eastwood is an all-timer - del It’s not without some droning that gets a little old (slow country) but this is a fun album.

💚

A hell of a debut album. Gorillaz rule, and this album is not just great, it changed the game. Gorillaz had so much influence over music in the 2000s that the album deserves a place in a museum. Best track for me is, sorry to be basic, Clint Eastwood, but Tomorrow Comes Today and 19-2000 are close behind. There's a lot of good musical experimentation here, give it a listen.

"Clint Eastwood" is as dumb and perfect as anything Damon Albarn has done, proof-of-concept for a half- or maybe too-baked idea that really got rolling a few albums later. the rest is good enough but not enough good.

There are some genuine bangers on this debut release, and songs like “Clint Eastwood” and “19-2000” introduce the band as a kind of shape-shifting, forward-thinking collaboration platform that seamlessly melds disparate musical styles — essentially paving the way for much of 21st century popular music. But there are a few clunkers among its 18 tracks, and some tracks feel like unfinished sketches. It’s at its best when it’s loose, funky and playful. To my ears Demon Days is the Gorillaz album for this list.

2 pretty good singles does not make an album full of filler essential.

Blur and Gorillaz in one week. That's a lot of Damon. I like both bands but...it's also alot. I'm probably more of a 'greatest hits is fine' for both bands.

Hate this band. Hate Damon Albarn. Hate this album. Simple as.

Absolute experimental, eclectic banger

I would rather hit myself in the thumb with a hammer a couple hundred times than listen to this album.

Ha! After two 1/5 star albums in a row, finally an album again that I can appreciate! Recorded 24 years ago, it sounds surprisingly fresh. I wasn't very familiar with the whole album, apart from their hits, but I'm genuinely impressed by this record. Surely, the first two tracks are with out a doubt Albarn's songs, but from then, the album makes an interesting turn, introducing hiphop and triphop influences to their songs ("Tomorrow comes Today", "New Genius (Brother)", and "Man Research") and return to Blur alike rock songs ("Punk", "M1 A1.") to be continued with a mixture of these styles in the following songs. The contributions of Del the Funky Homosapien's especially doesn't feel out of place, but is fitting in the whole eclectic approach of this album. Overall, a pleasant and joyful listen! 4/5

blur guy should stick with this

Powderfinger

Rock musicians trying to get in on the rap revolution led to a lot of bad music. Nu-Metal the biggest loser, RATM a rare exception. This is most apparent when bands like this forcefully include the table scratch sound. I remember this quickly became a sign of a bad song. It barely works in actual rap! My memories of this album and specifically Clint Eastwood are all tied to the music video, and that brings me to my next point: aesthetics in the early 2000’s were at an all time low. Album covers, music videos, clothes everything was in a weird new digital age and the transition was clunky as hell. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things that worked well and it could be some function of thinking the world sucked 25 years ago, but this whole cartoon universe they created sucks. All that said, some of this impressed me. 5/4 was my favorite. Overall though, didn’t need this. Also what the hell was Del rapping about? I read the lyrics in Clint Eastwood a few times and could not follow.

Not very good music for humans. For gorillas though? Pretty impressive.

Not amazing to my ears, BUT it was cool to read up on the blur -> gorillaz transition and the super collaborative environment that created the various sounds. I grew up on some of this, but found a new track Man Research to be my favorite. Somewhere around 2 stars

The best part of this album is obviously Clint Eastwood. I'll be honest I thought Del Tha Funkee Homosapien was part of Gorillaz, not a guest act (and in my memory, I definitely thought the rap on Feel Good Inc. was also Del until I just googled it and found out it was De La Soul). I don't really love the rest of the album. Just feels like Blur, and I'm not a big Blur fan Only other comment: the cartoon band thing is pretty fun - a cool open acknowledgement that the persona behind the music plays a big role in how much we like the music (like when you find out a rapper is white, you're automatically like oh fuck off this sucks). And obviously it makes the band more memorable. In other words...it's a good gimmick, but I don't love the product

Between this and Blur, I think Damon and I have very different ideas of what makes good music.

Obviously not their best album. Although the sound is pleasant and even lulling (i was drunk xd), it may seem fairly boring. It has some bangers, so I'll recomend to listen to it on background only.

I respect this whole concept. Of all things you can do post stadium sellout superstardom, creating a cartoon experimental band is up there with the best possible outcomes. Three notes: 1) The alternative youff of Australia wear Gorillaz merch. I never would have picked this band to have cultural relevance in 2025 2) They terrify Willem (four years old at the time of writing). I whisper “that it’s all in your head” and he completely loses his shit 3) Three stars seems harsh, but it’s in context of the list and also because I don’t really like listening to this album anymore

Album begins good but I don't find its sound interesting to me. I find these songs okay. But I also can see how how this album got it's popularity thanks secretive nature of the band. I remember when I was a kid we all have been trying to understand who were these guys? Later I understood that this band is the creation of Damon Alborn. So this secretive charm was catchy and everyone wanted to know about them and they had some personality which worked for them. And also they had pretty good animated music videos which worked so good. Sadly I find that album weaker then their later works. I see a lot of work on personality of each member I see a lot of work on artstyle but musically they are not yet the Gorillaz I like. I think this album works good as a demo album or proof of concept and nothing more. It has some historical value I guess. Fav. tracks: Clint Eastwood Double Bass M1 A1 3/5

Album fluctuates between like an anime hip hop and a shitty version of Radiohead. Overall, pretty blah with moments of interest.

Hifi beats to play Halo to

Pretty cool to hear the sound develop between this and demon days

This album is... nice. I didn't expect to like it, but I did. It's not bad at all, even though it is not something I would highlight. Some songs are fine. The overall doesn't work for me, it has some songs that feel repetitive and unnecessary. Most songs have a vibe I don't end up liking. But it's not bad.

Not really my thing but some music I enjoyed.

clint eastwood is a banger and this album was pretty fun and enjoyable definitely will have to check out more gorillaz given how good I've heard their next two albums are

Nice

There are some albums that really bring me back to a particular time and place. This one was me, fresh out of high school and working at a record store. Gorillaz was on constantly. Honestly, this isn't the band's best album, but there was something really special and unique about their debut. To start with here was Blur's Damon Albarn abandoning his Brit Pop roots for something completely different, which was already a surprise. There's such a fun mix of trip hop, punk, Latin, and pop sentimentalities here. Albarn recruited Dan the Automator to produce, who in turn set the standard for Gorillaz to bring in diverse collaborators in future albums. The debut has a fantastic cast of musicians, including Del the Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala, Miho Hatori, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Tom Tom Club/Talking Heads. The mix of sounds was completely unlike anything I'd heard before. The next thing that really stands out is the artwork by Jamie Hewlett. Plenty of bands have their frequent collaborators for album artwork, but Gorillaz were unique in having their artist as a proper member and co-founder of the band. There is no Gorillaz without Hewlett. Along with Albarn, the two were reeling from recent breakups and feeling disillusioned with pop culture. Supposedly they were watching a lot of MTV and described it as experiencing hell. From that came the idea of crafted an animated post-apocalyptic band. Despite not playing any instruments or writing any songs, Hewlett's characters play a central role in the feel of the music. They're more than mascotts, they're properly attached to the music, even "performing" live at Gorillaz's songs. As mentioned, Gorillaz have better albums, but I get why this one was chosen. Despite some filler, it was a pretty exciting album that still holds up well today.

eh, alright

Not bad, some songs I don’t like, but Clint Eastwood was good.

hittarna är bra men resten är jävligt spretigt. inte dåligt men det är svårkonsumerat upplever jag.

I’ve got sunshine in a bag.

I mean I guess this is fine, I feel like I remember it being some cultural zeitgeist thing at the time, but when I read about it and listen to it and look at the art for this "virtual band" it just seems so dated and lame.

Such a dope album, forgot how good their first album was as I got more into demon days and plastic beach.

chill. vibes.

Double Bass and 19-200 were good. But overall just too long and repetitive. Some nice stuff here and there but never understood why they would appeal to everyone so much.

Good single…the rest is blah.

an enjoyable album the whole way through, only really care for the single but i would definitely listen again

A nice sombre listen. I like every single on the album, and they are woven together nicely with "filler tracks" in a satisfying way.

As innovating as their virtual artistry may be, their music is mind-numbingly boring.

first listen (apart from Clint Eastwood) - surprised this is on here and not Demon Days (or maybe it's coming?)

I don’t have anything interesting to say, this was kind of boring. The band has some great songs in their catalogue that I listen to a lot and this album only has Clint Eastwood. Maybe I’ll check out another album by them.

Started well, got bored

Clint Eastwood still does it. Like stepping into a warm bath. Magical song. Rest is hit and miss. Good to listen to whole album in full. Worthy remixes too

Not bad! Bit of nostalgia in there too!

Good stuff

Meh

I never really got into Gorillaz and now I know why. This was fine with some catchy bits but not something I'd actively seek out.

A preview of greater things to come.

As much as I thought I wouldn’t enjoy this given its relation to Blur, it really is a good bit of fun, if anything. The ‘virtual band’ idea is less prevalent when just confronted with the music, but the concept does emerge sporadically - and that’s, like, cool, man. On the surface, it seems that you’ll be sitting through vague trip-hoppy beats whilst waiting for Del the Funky Homosapien to start on Clint Eastwood. But in reality this is an hour that constantly provides. Not to a great degree, sure, but enough to hold up its ambitious band concept. I’d probably never choose to put this on. And I probably never would have listened to it in the first place if not for the 1001 list. Another win for the list, as this band and album, whilst not to my personal liking, are undoubtedly important in recent musical history.

2.9 Ah, here we go. Story time. Gorillaz self titled was the first album I ever bought. I'd been buying singles for years, but every album I wanted would either be bought my dad (Oasis) or brother (Blink 182, Limp Bizkit). Finally here was a band that I liked alone, that I wanted to make that special commitment to and save up about a month's worth of pocket money for. I liked them because I loved their two singles at that time, Clint Eastwood and 19-2000. Those were banging tracks, so imagine buying a CD with an hour full of similar stuff! Incredible. I was nervous spending that much money (£13 iirc) but excited. Rushed home to play it and... Crushing disappointment. The two singles I liked turned out to be remixes, which at least they plonked on to the end of the album (I'd have been crushed if they never appeared at all, I'd been shocked and dismayed to find the first time those tracks appeared on the album they sounded nothing like that I'd remembered). But the rest of the album... In hindsight I was far too young to be to understand the rationale and reasoning behind Damon Albarns flirtation with experimental rock/electronica. Tracks like Man Research, Double Bass, Latin Simone, just confusing and entirely pointless to young me. It's interesting to listen to it back now. I think I'm still slightly resentful, I've not really bothered after the 20th time I tried that first week I bought it, mortified at giving my savings away for it. Emotions aside, the album careers too much from genre to genre, some bits are good, but more bits are poor. And the two remixes aren't even that good ffs. Sound ridiculously out of place at the end, why did I even bother.

The instrumentals were never boring.

Everyone's favorite virtual band. The brainchild of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz is a group that feels ahead of its time and not of this world at times. They bend all sort of genres, but I think of trip-hop, lo-fi, and alt rock when their name comes up. I think things get a little bit more refined in the group's later releases, but this is still an impactful, yet uneven debut complete with some memorable and unique tracks ("Clint Eastwood", "Tomorrow Comes Today", "Rock the House"), helped by some of the guest features that would become more commonplace in their later works too.

Through the years I have sometimes wondered what the rest of the album sounds like, having only heard Clint Eastwood on the radio while in grammar school. Now I know. Feels more like a collection of rough song sketches than a coherent album. A hard listen for me. Still bopping along to Clint Eastwood tho. Favorite track: Clint Eastwood

I can’t exactly put my finger on what prevents me from listening to this band more often. I admire Damon Alborn as a person (google some of his youtube interviews) and an artist. But this band, like Blur produces some of the catchiest, most enjoyable and memorable songs and a whole lot of harder-to-get-into mediocre stuff. Clint Eastwood a likely top 20 all time song for me; 19-2000 in the top 100. A few others are catchy - Double Bass, Rock the House, Starshine - but it’s hard to put this on as an album and enjoy it all the way through in most settings. The 2nd half is better than the first; I think Melancholy Hill is the better record. 4/5

Gorillaz, Gorillaz, 2001 ☆︎☆︎☆︎☆︎☆☆︎/☆︎☆︎☆︎☆︎☆︎ Six stars, why not? You didn't even have to know they would be prolific to accept the talent and concept here were spot-on. I like the fact that in a defining judgement of 90s Britpop, this album far outsold all of Blur's output combined, and you obvs could probably add like Pulp and some others in there and still have room. Fun shit, eh? Albarn was serious in his desire to bring forth all stripes of music in this band: Del the Funky Homosapien (who had already burned his delivery into our brains via Tony Hawk video games), his generous use of melodica (relegated to the background till now, used only by New Order and various ska acts) and this sort of hey guys, trip-hop doesn't need to be this dark, too-stoned sludge message made Gorillaz like really fun and genre-defying. So what if the alter-ego comic book stuff was maybe alienating to those of us well into adulthood. The graffiti vibe and modern day punk element all blended well with their output. Barely a poor track on the thing. I've got friends, former loves, who will pine about days of listening to Portishead and Massive Attack in chillout rooms and while I see the appeal, why stop there? If Massive Attack's Mezzanine is your glass of bourbon after a long day, once you're settled: come on, get happy with this record.

i didn't listen till the end i guess not my vibe. Weird mush up of rap and sad music i guess.

good album just not a fan of a few songs like double bass as too anxiety inducing to listen personally (but that could be my headspace) love rock the house and 19-2000 esp the remix. also obvs clint eastwood is a banger

You know, when people would tell me they didn't my music I was always in shock. Like, how could you not grasp it? Were you not paying attention? Am I secretly smarter than the average human and here is my math problem on the chalk board moment? No, no, no, none of that is true, but here I am, not getting this. So many people have told me I'm crazy to not get this album, but I don't. I like Demon Days better in every way.

Didn't know the Gorillaz have as much dynamic sound packed into one album

4 out of 5. That is a classic album. Some songs are just ok. There are some great ones in addition to Clint Eastwood.

I had this in 2001, and I still feel the same way about it now. Lots of interesting, but seemingly unfinished ideas. The best song on the album is the 19-2000 remix.

different

I really struggle with the Gorillaz the same way I struggle with Blur. The great songs are legit 10/10 bangers. But there is so much filler that I can't get into it. All in all this is a good album. But those bangers. Holy shit they go so hard.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1001 Albums- # 74 There is no 🦍 in the room here; a creative fusion of alternative, hip hop and elctro-pop as a very entertaining side project for Damon Albarn, which doesn’t Blur the effect… An experimental melting pot that pulls a myriad of genres—yet somehow never feels disjointed. Albarn’s melodic instincts are filtered through the gritty, sample-heavy production of Dan the Automator, creating a sonic playground that feels both chilled-out and sharply futuristic. Gorillaz weren’t just a band—they were a virtual project with a comic-book mythology. The 2001 album wasn’t just an audio experience; it was part of a larger narrative. Every music video, website, and artwork deepened the sense that 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel were real. This immersive concept gave the album an extra layer of depth—like each track was a window into a surreal, animated dystopia. 🎧 Classic Track: Clint Eastwood 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: Double Bass 🎧 Personal Favorite: Punk 🎧 Memorable Standout: M1 A1 Damon Albarn’s voice ranges from ghostly to soulful, rarely showy but always effective. The featured artists—especially Del the Funky Homosapien—add essential flavor. His performance on “Clint Eastwood” and “Rock the House” is charismatic, serving as the spirit possessing drummer Russel. There’s also an unexpected turn from Ibrahim Ferrer (Buena Vista Social Club) on “Latin Simone”, which adds emotional weight. As aforementioned, what set Gorillaz apart even more than their sound was their identity as a fictional band. Unlike traditional acts, Gorillaz used animation and narrative to construct their personas. 2-D, the gloomy frontman with black eyes; Murdoc, the demonic bassist; Noodle, the mysterious child prodigy from Japan; and Russel, the haunted drummer—each had backstories, motivations, and evolving relationships. Their world unfolded across music videos, websites, and interviews, creating a level of transmedia storytelling rarely seen in pop music. This innovation served a dual purpose. First, it allowed Albarn to creatively distance himself from the Britpop expectations placed on him after Blur, giving him the freedom to explore different musical identities. Second, it offered a subtle critique of celebrity culture itself—replacing the human artist with a fabricated persona. Gorillaz questioned the authenticity obsession in music: Did it matter who was behind the art, or just how it made you feel? 🖼️ Album Artwork: Personas of this virtual band What Gorillaz demonstrated was that visual identity could be just as powerful as sonic identity. By removing the “face” of the artist, the project encouraged listeners to focus on the music, the world-building, and the feeling. In some ways, it predicted modern trends: from anonymous artists like Marshmello or Daft Punk to the rise of VTubers and digital performers in contemporary internet culture.

Classic, ageless, still so fresh sounding

I really liked this! Got a lot of sounds I didn't expect

Slow and trancey mix of electronica and hip hop. I found most of the songs to be too sparse and downbeat. 19-2000 is fantastic though, and Clint Eastwood is ok. But they were the singles I've heard a million times so maybe it's just familiarity.

Brilliant concept, and still going strong today. This album brings back a ton of memories and still holds up today.

Damon and friends. Hard to get better. Multilayered and magical, bouncy and danciful, such glorious evidence of the interconnected reality of the human thang!

I love the Gorillaz and this is such a solid and dope debut album! I love how they mix electronic music, hip hop, and rock elements together. They have such a unique sound which makes them so much fun to listen to. Some of my fav tracks from this album are: Clint Eastwood, 19-2000, and Dracula. I would definitely jam to this album again in the future!

Mouais

I think they've sold Gorillaz short here by having this album and this album alone on his list. Demon Days and Plastic Beach are better records

What a terrific album. I need to spend more time with these guys.

Blur blurred into Gorillaz. Genius. Coming back to this album every few months. Full of mischief. Great atmosphere. Banger tracks (New Genius, Clint Eastwood).

For me, Gorillaz is more of a product than a band. Benefiting from already having that Blur $, they were able to combine their titular album with badass animated video without any sort of come up. No buzz, no fan base, they just drop the Clint Eastwood video at a time MTV was still a thing, and it was massive. It's brilliant marketing. It's impossible for me to hear Gorillaz without visualizing those creepy caricatures. That said, the music is good. 4 stars for the album, 5 stars as a product

Should absolutely be Demon Days or Plastic Beach. I get the idea of paying respect to albums that started it all (and this album is still very good), and I would be more accepting of this album on the list if just one of the other albums I mention were also on here. But this is not the best representation of Gorillaz, but nor is it the most culturally significant. Everyone and their dog knows Feel Good Inc, after all. Gorillaz deserves a 5 star album on this list, but I do not think their debut is 5 start unfortunately. Still very good though.

i do like clint eastwood but gorillaz has better albums out

I ignored this album when it came out, which is weird because I love albums made by cartoons and/or animals (see my love of the Archies, Lancelot Link and the Chipmunks). Listening now, it's not bad. I appreciate the use of the melodica. A little monotonous, but better than most shit on the radio at the time, I guess.

This really sounds like a specific time period to me, like the soundtrack for the turn of the millennium. I always found this band's story more interesting than their music, but I was just more into guitars at the time. Revisiting them with Willie's help/recommendation, I like it more than I did back then.

First half was ok. Highlight was Clint Eastwood. Other than that pretty mid

Honestly don't have too much to say about this one. It's a fine album, but nothing special, and wouldn't find myself listening to any of the songs again.

I was quite disappointed by this. The singles didn't hold up very well, and the non-singles were a bit annoying or even dour at times. It's also a classic CD-era album that is overstuffed just to max out the full length of the CD. This could have used a lot of editing.

Decent in parts. The singles stand out, but other sections are not quite fully formed.

A chameleon album of trip/hip hop, alternative rock, pop, dub, and other sounds and influences, with a heavy low end. It’s a lot of fun annd all over the map with some unexpected turns, but it still has a consistent Gorillaz sound and fits well together as an album. It’s not about the components - individual parts and instruments won’t necessary impress - but their culmination into an original coherent sound and catchy melodies regardless of style or tempo. There really isn’t a single song I dislike here; they’re all interesting and unique in their own ways, even the simpler and more repetitive tracks bring something to the table. Guest features are tasteful and make a notable contribution to the feel of the album and songs. Best cartoon band ever!

Overrated

Okay, so obviously this doesn't measure up to the titan of Demon Days that was to follow but still, for this to come from nowhere was incredible back in the day. Maybe a biased score, but this gets a STRONG 4*, kept at that level just because Demon Days is perfect and my ratings need somewhere to go.

Clint Eastwood is a classic but there weren’t many other songs that matched my taste. 5/4 and Tomorrow Comes Today were ok.

me gustó, lo sentí mucho más experimental que el anterior de Gorillaz que me había recomendado

Gorillaz self-titled debut was everywhere when it came out in 2001. So much of it holds up nearly 25 years later and still sounds as cool and good as the last time I listened to it. How do you come up with an idea as out there as "Let's make a virtual cartoon band" and it all works this well? And it's enough of a hit that they just kept doing it? You’re welcome, Hatsune Miku, et al… 4⭐️

Listened to years ago. Liked it. Not enough to return to, though

Remember the hype from back then for this release. A virtual band was something completely new. Clint eastwood was rocking so hard. Never listened to the full album tho until now. Takes a while to get drawn in at first, but from track 5 on this record really takes of and throws a lot of great songs at you. Love the hypnotizing vocals, the many change-ups do to the many features and the general overarching groove that somehow binds it all together.

Pretty good and only about 3 songs I didn’t like and lots of different enjoyable sounds. Favorite song - 19 - 200 or Latin Simone.

Clint Eastwoord, het liedje dus, was ongelofelijk populair toen dit uitkwam. Ik weet nog dat ik toen het album heb gedownload en toen kwam ik er achter dat de rest van het album me eigenlijk niet zo boeide. Ik had verwacht dat ik het inmiddels misschien leuker zou vinden, maar eigenlijk is er weinig veranderd. Ik vind het geen ramp om er een keer doorheen te moeten, maar ik snap de hype niet helemaal. '10-2000' kennen we ook nog maar daarna gaat de boel als een nachtkaars uit. 'Gewoon' 3 sterren.

Another good album. One that might grow on me with more listens or if I discovered more about the songs/stories

Critical darlings but this just passed me by. Listened a few times over the weekend but nothing really grabbed me outside of the singles I already knew.

In hindsight this feels like the next Blur album, if Blur had gotten really into Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys in the interim (Exhibit A: "Double Bass," which mimics the vibe and placement of "Something's Got to Give" on the Beasties' album). As a fan of both, I'm on board here; remember that the blues went from America to Britain and back to America before hip-hop ever did.

Not quite

This album feels more complete to me than something like Demon Days. Demon Days is definitely flush with more hits, but this is Gorillaz at their most interesting and raw.

This album came out the same year I went to kindergarten. My mom bought me this albums and The Vines album as a present for starting school. So this album is will always be 5 stars to me :)

Dieses Debütalbum der britischen (englischen) Virtual-Band Gorillaz wurde zwischen 1998 und 2000 in Damon Albarns Studio 13 in London sowie im Geejam Studios in Jamaika aufgenommen. Das Ergebnis ist ein klanglich vielseitiges Werk, das Genres wie Trip-Hop, Dub, Alternative Rock und karibische Rhythmen kombiniert. Bekannte Songs wie „Clint Eastwood“, „19-2000“, „Rock the House“ und „Tomorrow Comes Today“ zählen zu den stilprägenden Nummern des Albums. Persönlich nehme ich den Spagat zwischen urbanem Sound und exotischen Einflüssen als besonders gelungen wahr – das Album wirkt bewusst unaufgeregt und abwechslungsreich zugleich. Insgesamt erscheint es als souveräner Auftakt, der die Richtung für spätere Arbeiten der Band legt und dabei eine ausgewogene Kreativität zeigt.

Pooaaaaahhhhhhh

Nostalgic banger

I feel like i shouldve liked this better than i did. I think Clint Eastwood has all the quirks and uniqueness that the album has. The laid-back vibe, cheap sounding instruments, not taking stuff too seriously. I don’t think the rest of the album holds the attention that well. I think a single lp could’ve been better. Their later work is much more appealing to me, but still this is a good album, just not as much for me as i thought

Good, but some were a bit forgetful

I enjoy some Gorillaz but wasn't really into this

Generic kiddie-pop. This band is widely regarded as a joke… quite possibly cause they are one. Ain't my thing and I couldn't care much less if I never hear this again.

I like my hip hop to be more banging than most of this I guess. Much of it didn’t keep my attention. The two big hits are hits for a reason. I do love 19-2000 though.

Really varied album. Every song is different to the last. Prefer the slow Trip Hop tracks.

I really really like this album. I'm not sure exactly why. Lot's of different sounds and styles, but it is all pretty distinctive Gorillaz.

Clint Eastwood by Gorrillaz had a hold on me when I was 11. I used to sit and watch the video whenever it came on the telly and be mesmerised by it, the song really gives me nostalgic feelings. 19-2000 also is a song I remember liking as well when I was younger. Other songs on this album I liked were Rock The House (which I temper the video but not the song) and Punk which was a fun short song. There is quite a mix of stuff going on in the album, I found it a bit messy and apart from the songs i liked I wasn’t really feeling the rest The remixs of Clint Eastwood and 19-2000 are the best songs in the album

Brit-pop meets hip-hop. Interesting blend of music, more background than dedicated listening but this is a fun album. Clint Eastwood is burnt in for me as it was played endlessly on many road trips with the kids so this CD has some good memories too.

Pretty good stuff. Demon Days is a better album overall -- but it's fun to hear these guys come together.

Maybe I'm in the minority here but this is definitely side project territory and doesn't come close to the heights of Blur.

3.5 stars When Gorillaz came out, I would’ve been in grade 10 or so. The whole virtual cartoon band thing was a huge part of their marketing and felt really futuristic. Although in Canada, we’d already had our own cartoon band, Prozzak, for several years. For a minute there it felt like this was gonna be a thing. Looking back, I’ve been trying to figure out how well known it was that Damon was at the helm of Gorillaz. As a Canadian teen that wasn’t on indie music message boards, I was completely clueless. I also only knew Blur from Song 2 and wouldn’t learn the name Damon Albarn for many years. It sounds like at the time of this album’s release it was an open secret, and was widely known by the time they released their second album Demon Days in 2005 (I still had no clue at that point). Anyway, if you were a Blur fan at the time you would’ve figured it out in 2 seconds, because not only does Damon make no attempt to disguise his voice, a lot of these songs sound like they could have slotted into Blur’s later albums. I kind of feel like Think Tank is a better Gorillaz album than Gorillaz is. The borders between the two bands were definitely, er, blurring, by the end (ie the end of Blur before they reformed in 2015). My main critique of this album is that aside from a few songs, they sound like Blur b-sides. It’s a couple hit singles and a collection of low-key songs. Good low-key songs! But it’s so mellow that it really blends together and there are few standout tracks. Clint Eastwood is ok, it’s funny that it was such a breakout hit because it doesn’t have the obvious pop appeal of the singles from Demon Days. 19-2000 is fun. There’s isn’t really a song I dislike on this record but there also aren’t any true standouts. It’s solid but a bit unremarkable. I’d still rather listen to this than most of the albums I’ve encountered on this list. However, Damon was clearly onto something with this debut effort. He figured out the right blend of genres that would finally bring him his longed-for American success. But I think the blend worked better for him on subsequent albums when he dialled down the trip-hop and upped the hip hop, electropop, synthpop, disco/funk, and soul. I think on Demon Days, with the help of Danger Mouse, he finally was able to distinguish Blur and Gorillaz’s sounds. Side note: I love Gorillaz in general. Plastic Beach is one of favourite albums, and I’m also very partial to Demon Days and The Now Now. As a Blur/Damon fan I feel very lucky that he’s been so crazily prolific and continues to produce so much good music. He has like 500 side projects and I like them all. So even though I consider myself a Gorillaz fan, the cartoon aspect is totally over my head. I’ve never gotten invested in the lore and I’m only vaguely aware of the characters and story. So it totally blows my mind when I go to a Gorillaz show and am surrounded by people who are clearly very, very into that. Which is cool. Maybe one day I’ll dive in. I don’t know if it’s really my thing but it is weird that there’s this whole extensive aspect to an artist I love that I know nothing about.

I am a fan of Gorillaz. But this is not really a Gorillaz album. It's album where a man (Damon) is trying to discover the sound of a new band that happens to be called Gorillaz. It's an album where a man is transitioning his sound from one band to another, from Blur to something new. So it's not quite a Gorillaz album and it's not quite a Blur album. It's a messy hybrid. And to be honest, it's kind of mid. It's interesting, but it's not that enjoyable. If you know blur and you know Gorillaz, it's very interesting hearing Damon shift between the sounds in real time. It's enjoyable with a lot of context. But as a stand alone album, it's meh. It kind of reminds me of the Blur album we already reviewed, except worse. On that album the band was transitioning from their Brit Pop sound to a mash up of 90s alternative sounds. It was also messy, but it worked. This album doesn't really work for me. There are some fun Blur-y tracks like Punk and 5/4. There are a bunch of tracks that are messy hybrids of both sounds that are pretty forgettable... and there are too many of them (there are too many songs on this album in general). But the album does have a crown jewel, Clint Eastwood. It's the only song that feels truly like a Gorillaz song. What a track. It still holds up. It feels like the first ever Gorillaz song. Perhaps writing it was the moment where Damon finally saw the sound of this new project come into focus. We'll never know. But that's how it feels as a listener. Side note: How did listeners at the time not immediately know it was the guy from Blur in Gorillaz? I know at the time it was a mystery... but listening now, it feels so fucking obvious. Big parts of this album feel very similar to blur... and his voice isn't modified like it is on later Gorillaz albums. I guess it was a simpler, less online time when this thing came out. Lucky bastards.

some killer. Some filler too. Made a hook out of cymbal crashes on 3+4+ which is tight. Anyway, cool concept, executed coolly. Can see the beginning of the end of Albarn as a fun musician with the tinkly shit though.

The self-titled debut from Gorillaz was nothing short of groundbreaking when it dropped in 2001. A virtual cartoon band created by Blur’s Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett might have sounded like a gimmick, but this album is anything but. It’s a fully realized, genre-bending project where hip-hop, dub, lo-fi, Britpop, and electronica collide in a way that felt completely new and exciting. The album is soaked in a moody, laid-back atmosphere, quirky and off-kilter, yet surprisingly focused. Tracks like “Clint Eastwood”, “Tomorrow Comes Today”, and “19-2000” became instant hits and showcased the band’s ability to blend heavy beats with catchy melodies and charismatic character. Dan the Automator’s production is both gritty and stylish, like a dusty record found in a futuristic world. Combined with Albarn’s unmistakable vocals and a cast of guest features, the result is a kaleidoscopic but coherent listening experience. Gorillaz managed to create a new kind of pop music, wrapped in a complete visual identity, and it has had a lasting impact on how music and aesthetics are connected. This is not just a strong debut, it’s a landmark album that still sounds fresh today. 5/5

🔥

имба. Latin Simone - одна из любимых песен, жаль что на альбоме не версия с вокалом. любители фанатских клипов, зацените на ютубе - Gorillaz - Latin Simone FULL HD - NO PROFIT VIDEO (read details)

❤️

I thought I might like this album, but there was so much straight up noise that I got annoyed. I found this album made me angry after a point, and it is one of the very few albums I did not even finish. Hard pass.

🙉

Very good. Damien Albarn’s spin off band. Versed eclectic will benefit from repeated listens.

There is a stark contrast between the songs with Del and those without. With Del I would give this album a 4 or a fringe 5. Without him it's more like a 2. They have really interesting instrumentals but they really just cannot be trusted to do their own vocals on this album without this sounding like whiny shoegaze bullshit.

Oh yeah feel it who who balssackies

There’s a few songs that I reeeally like on here. The rest just fall flat and make listening through the full hour a bit of a hassle. Just an alright debut album.

Ten years ago today, I was four months into having Clint Eastwood stuck in my head nonstop - it didn't get dislodged until CHVRCHES released their alarm Every Open Eye that September, and replaced the earworm with Make Them Gold. I would have been a lot more upset to get this album in 2015 than I am in 2025, when the 6 month earworm is just a funny story from the past. Anyway. Pretty good, but Gorillaz did improve with subsequent albums, and this feels like the warmup for the really good stuff.

Album 852 of 1089 Gorillaz - Gorillaz (2001) Rating : 3.5 / 5 A good listen overall—maybe not quite what I was expecting, but still glad I gave it a spin. They’re a favorite of my younger son, so I was hoping for something I’d really connect with. There were definitely some solid moments, but too much of it leaned on slow grooves that just didn’t quite move enough for me. That said, “Clint Eastwood” remains an excellent track and was a definite highlight.

Pretty eclectic for it's time, but very interesting. I didn't get it when it was originally released, but really enjoyed listening to it today. Had a couple slow spots, but overall it is excellent.

Banal

Too laid back for me, but there's a couple of bangers. Still, a full album of this is not what I need, even when it is very well-produced.

Different. Kind of fun.

I really enjoyed it. 3.5

Classic

Funny how dated this album sounds today, thought I would enjoy listening to it again after all these years - but I didn’t! Nevertheless still regard Damon as one of our best and original artists.

'It's the money or stop'; ‘I’m useless but not for long’; ‘Get the cool shoeshine.’ Britpop’s white knight Damon Albarn goes virtual, but he’s virtually just as full of shit as if not more phony than he ever was w/ Blur. The record does undoubtedly boast some great tracks - ‘New Genius (Brother),’ ‘Clint Eastwood,’ ‘Rock the House,’ 'Latin Simone’ - but when they start singing about ‘Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy,’ there’s not much more brit-poping masquerading as hip-hoping and trip-hoping I can take. It’s not lo-fi, it’s no dice, which is fine in bouts, but over the course of 69 minutes is no bueno. Del makes this thing go, but it doesn’t go very far, tho it does go on for too long: good production ruined by bad ideas.

Jazz rap

Fantastic album! Made in 2001, but sounds so fresh. Love the hip hop, alt/indie rock and electronic combination. My first full album experience of the Gorillaz and I am in love! Will be listening to it a lot more throughout this year.

I really like blur and much of the gorilaz other music but this album didn't do it for me. Besides Clint Eastwood there really aren't many memorable tracks. I respect the diversity and attempts but too many songs went on longer than they should've and too many misses for me

Def a fun jam. Never love seeing an album is over an hour but this was very vibey.

Much more drab and bleak than i thought it would be.

Honestly this is one of my first CDs. I have so much nostalgia for this....

A good album this. Get 4 stars just for the Clint Eastwood track

PG Tips did it, Cadburys did it, then Damon Alburn did it. Yet Houmous & Chutney are still banned from using primates in the creation of their art. Just because of one incident in 1963! 3.9 10/17 Rock The House

great debut by a great group. A little something for everyone here! Damon Albarn at his best, and he's not even the best part. Great variety in song writing and styles.

What a debut! Just an eclectic mix of styles, inspirations and artists that leads to some of the catchiest and unique music of the 2000’s. Del the Funky Homosapien for goodness sake! If you listen to this album and don’t find at least 1 song that appeals to then I don’t know what to tell you. You just don’t like music.

Ace!

A bit dank, Latin Simone is a great track

Damon Albarn with the Gorillaz is better than Damon Albarn with Blur. He has four albums on this list, that's insane. This is a long album. And four songs in it's starting to feel long. Clint Eastwood was the hit and their big break. I remember liking it when it came out but it felt like it was overplayed very quickly. Man Research (Clapper) was cool for about three minutes. Unfortunately it went on for four and a half minutes. Every song seems very internally repetitive. The vocal affectation Albarn is putting on is getting really annoying as the album progresses. Double Bass without the singing is probably the best track on the album. The poorly played flute is not a positive addition to Rock the House. Del The Funky Homosapien is so tied to the Gorillaz that I think of his songs with them first. 19-2000 was the other big hit with the girl from Cibo Matto singing about cool shoeshines. It's still the best song on the album. Followed by a song with the Buena Vista Social Club guy that is easily the worst song on the album. Starshine has Albarn's weird voice on full display and then Slow Country is the same four words over and over again....needless to say the album is continuing to go downhill. And then M1 A1 is some clip of a guy yelling, "Is anyone there?" for almost two minutes. This album is too long. Bong noises, found sound recording of an Asian woman talking about playing an instrument, it all adds up to a terrible song. And ending with a remix of the album's first single. Jamaican guy talking, sped up, stripped down music, dance hall rapping...I don't love the original but this is worse.

Gorillaz? Hell yeah

3/5

Nunca me atraiu tanto o Gorillaz, claro que tem alguns hits inegáveis que marcam um período da música, mas não acho que seja a coisa mais criativa do mundo, na verdade muitas vezes parece pegar pra mim elementos de outros gêneros como o trip hop e criar uma versão mais palatável e radio friendly. Ainda sigo sem conseguir ver a graça

Good. Interesting at times, but not that memorable (like I enjoyed listening to it while driving this afternoon, but it’s early evening now and I can’t remember anything i listened to). I’ll go with my 1st impression and give it a 3 — glad I listened, but it didn’t capture my interest.

I wasn’t that impressed or drawn in by any of the music on the album.

not that good or their best

Chill sommeralbum, litt treigt, varierende grad av sterke låter.

2. lovely artwork, the Del tracks are good, but the rest is so bland.

I love it - It’s a real classic for me

This isn't something I'd conventionally listen to (outside the obvious hits - Clint Eastwood and 19-2000, my personal favourite) but this is just so fresh, so interesting, and takes you back to a simpler time where this would have just sounded so fucking futuristic and awesome. Solid 4. Might buy a copy!!

Phenomenal. Each of these tracks is a world unto itself, so well realized and inventive that to listen is to be immersed. Clint Eastwood is one of the best hip hop tracks of all time in my opinion: the distinctive loop at the start is immortal by now, as is the chorus (I aint happy, im feelin glad / i got sunshine, in a bag / im useless. But not for long / the future is coming on). It's simple but profound, seedy in a way that manages to be universally appealing. But the whole album is gold, with incredible production that's made for you to get lost in with a good pair of headphones. In a broader sense, it's a brilliant successor to Portishead's Dummy, another entry on this lost I loved - both projects make be immensely proud of British alternative hip hop.

So very dope. I love the balance of electronica sound experiments and radio ready jams. Everything is effortless and competent. It’s all so very easy to listen to, and I think it totally holds up all these years later. I can see why this is on here. Feels like a bit of a turning point for the genre - mashed up as it might be. Great album!

I’ve got sunshine in a bag

My second time hearing this all the way through. very good album. i really enjoy the early sound of this band and i love damon’s artistry, he is a musical genius, i love how this album can blend some grungy and rugged sounding rock with some rap. it’s a little messy but i feel that adds to it. 4/5

Some good moments, but none of the songs really spoke to me.

This just was really not quite it for me. Just felt mostly redundant and not very exciting as well as definitely too long. It does have great diversity of tracks however and a large variety of styles to keep things interesting. I still found it pretty boring though so I don’t know. Just not my thing I guess.

Boring

I think their later albums are better, but boy was this boring. I guess by "virtual band" they mean they make virtual music. Snooze.

2.5

First Listen. More Dub than I thought, more of a compilation than an Album. Fav: 19-2000

The album SpongeBob listens to when he goes on walks and does his silly little dance. Honestly though, feels more like a proof of concept for Gorillaz, just kinda an ok samplefest.

Hits to spot.

Some good tunes but not something I’ll put in the regular rotation end to end

There’s so many great things that go together: Peanut butter and jelly, cheese and wine, how about Gorillaz and being bone tired as 12 at night? Yes, that’s how I spent my time listening this album, I guess I shot myself in the foot for not having good time management, but I digress. In all honesty, I wasn’t that big on this album, but to be fair, I liked it better than the last couple albums I got. Damon Albarn’s vocals can get kind of grating at times when he attempts to go into a higher register, but when he stays low on songs like Tomorrow Comes Today, I feel like it works. I also really like the instrumentals on this album, it all oozes with this kind of apocalyptic hip hop vibe, which I liked. Del The Funky Homosapien does a pretty good verse on Clint Eastwood, which I would say is the standout track on the album. But the songs can feel repetitive at times and it took until the first couple songs were over for me to get into it. I’ll probably listen to Demon Days at some point, so I still haven’t given up on the Gorillaz. Let’s hope that they impress me.

splendid. just an amalgamation of rap and pop and rock and i love it. “clint eastwood” ALWAYS hits but so did the rest of the album. 5/5.

Gorillaz' debut is such a fun and unique project that while not taking itself too seriously, still lays the groundworks for one of the most interesting musical projects out there with completely made up band members and an insane amount of lore that I won't even pretend to understand.

Very fine Gorillaz album.

Geweldig album. Het is geen Demon Days natuurlijk, maar hier staan ook wel een paar schijven op. Gorillaz is één van de vele bewijzen van hoe geniaal Damon Albarn is. 4.2

Love it ever since it was released! This is one of those records that defines the early 2000s, at least for me.

1:33 am - first time getting an album i've already heard before!! i know i'm giving this a 4/5, but it's nice to revisit this anyways. 1:46 am - wait, this is a 5/5 album, how did i forget lmao. too bad im on vacation now, as i have a dvd of all of the animations for this album, and that would be great to watch with this. also, the original cd could be put into your computer and a program would open up where you could look at song lyrics, and also tour murdocs winnebago. i wonder if that program could be found online.

Love this one, big variety in songs and a couple real classics. A few too many songs, but really fun.

Honestly, I’m amazed this mediocre album got so popular. It’s like they threw a bunch of random shit together and hoped no one would notice.. and apparently, no one did.

Eastwood is pretty much the only track I like. Demon Days is a better record.

Better then i was expecting. Clint Eastwood is pretty great.

I like a lot about this band (big Damon Albarn fan) but I don't love this album. I think there's a lot here that points to where it's going to be good, but it's uneven, and a little messy. I prefer Demon Days and Plastic Beach to this one.

Dull, too long, but was a bit of a big deal back in the day

Demon Days and Plastic Beach clear this but still a solid album

Chill beats, Clint Eastwood a classic 3.5

Clint Eastwood gets this album 4 stars by itself but the rest is good too. crazy how much better Gorillaz are then Blur. and this isn’t even the best Gorillaz album!

Classic. A crazy blend of all genres. Solid 8/10

7.5/10

En svale gjør ingen sommer, og to hits gjør intet album. Har sine øyeblikk, men hele skiva er et overaskende stort gjesp, Forventa mye mer, men hitsa - de kan ingen ta fra Albarn. Beste låt: Clint Eastwood.

Absolutt noen bangers, liker blandingen av britpop og rap. Men kan bli litt mye med et album.

Gjesp.

Clint Eastwood is always a win but the rest of the album just isn’t my cuppa.

alt album reasonable good.

Great album, overshadowed by the second though.

Mener jeg har hørt flere låter av dem som jeg har likt godt tidligere. Ble litt skuffet for jeg hadde forventninger som ikke ble innfridd her.

weird and loud

The moment when Damon Albert stopped being an insufferably smug prick who hated working class people and became an insufferably smug prick who hated mass media consumption.

aight

Some good, artistic shit in here, but by the end of it I was ready to be done.

High highs and low lows. Thought I liked Gorillaz but maybe I just like Del the Funky Homosapien.

even as somebody who loved think tank and the solo albums, this is pretty self-indulgent stuff from damon. other gorillaz albums, especially plastic beach, are a better use of your time.

Fun album. I liked the experimentation in the songs and the band is also a bit nostalgic for me.

Ah, yes. The debut drop from the digital-- uhh, what's another alliterative D word? Drab band? I never listened to this album when it came out (but I've heard Clint Eastwood on the radio enough to know every word). Overall it feels more like a concept demo than a finished album. Aside from Eastwood and 5/4, the rest of the songs are just drifting ideas with interesting soundscapes but aren't memorable enough for me to want to listen to again.

Funny this came up right after Beck's Odelay, because I can somewhat equate the two of them in eccentricity and variety. But this one is better. I haven't listened to this one in years, and was really surprised how little it has aged, especially in comparison to Beck. I was really digging the back half where a few of the more mellow tracks are. I was never big on the 'the musicians are actually cartoons!' thing, which soured me on them at the start, but this is a high quality album with some deep cuts as good, to me, as the singles. High 4 star.

3.5 for the utter nostalgia and their fantastic, innovative approach, but overall I didn’t love several

One of my favorites.

Love Gorillaz. Both wacky aesthetics, lore, and music. I think "Demon Days" is a better album, but this one also slaps. Fun fact the melody from "Clint Eastwood" was actually just a demo loop from a Suzuki Omnichord. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kn8ocOsdbEo 1 - would not listen to again 2 - if some one played it, I'd probably just zone it out 3 - didn't hate it, didn't love it 4 - saved some songs from the album 5 - would buy the album or already own it

Played the heck out of this one back in the mid 00s, never actually bought the album which I feel kinda bad about now.

enjoyed the bsides more than I thought I would

Clint Eastwood was heating up when I was vacationing in London and I'll always remember that.

I got sunshine in a bag

I bought this album when it came out in 2001 because of “Clint Eastwood.” At the age of 14 I was disappointed. I tried and tried and tried to get into it. I needed to get my moneys worth, but still only liked 1 other song (Rock the House). 5 or 6 years later I gave it another shot after the success of their second album and was blown away with what I had missed. It still hits for me today as one of their top albums. Close 5, but “Plastic Beach” exists.

Enjoyable record. Another situation where for whatever reason debut albums seem to have more weight than later records even if the later records are better. With that being said, still a great start to this band. Loved them since day 1.

Not a single song from this album is on the Billboard Top 100 for 2001. Yet, the Gorillaz seemed to be everywhere at the time. Certainly, the music video played with regularity on MTV. Never having been a big Gorillaz fan, I thought to at first rate this a 2 or 3. However, looking at that list of the Top 100 for the year and re-listening to the b-side of the album, I have to rate it higher. The first two songs on the album made me think "oh great, just more Blur", but then as the album proceeds it astounds: the inclusion of Del the Funky Homosapien, experimentations with dub, intriguing sampling, genre bending; truly this album was unique when it came out. I firmly believe some of the more guitar heavy sounds likewise would go to inspire other indie rock of the mid to late 2000s like the Arctic Monkeys. Oddly, many of my favorite tracks are the smoother love letters to bands like Massive Attack and Portishead, songs like "Sound Check (Gravity)" and "New Genius (Brother)", or the more dub heavy sounds of "Slow Country" and "Dracula". This debut album is a showcase of a group of musicians making the types of music they want to make, and not hemmed in by constraints of genre or even instrument.

I absolutely LOATHED this album when it was first released. I HATED the singles, and thought the concept of the band was DUMB, even though I love CARTOONS. Luckily, I came to my senses when Demon Days was released, and it forced me to re-evaluate Gorillaz. This is a strong debut and a great thesis statement. While I've grown to love the radio hits, this album's best tracks are deeper cuts. I think Demon Days or Plastic Beach deserves to be on this list more than the self-titled, but here we are.

Some superb and original sounding songs on it. Certainly not back-to-back banger and there are some just unpleasant parts to the album. But also some songs that sound better today than they did back then.

Wowzerrrs da het mis herzli en freudessprung gmacht woni das Album gseh han. Viel zspaht i mim Lebe hani Gorillaz für mich entdeckt aber natürli lieber z spaht wie nie. Ihres Debut Album vo Ahfang bis Schluss durelose hani dadefür jetzt s erst mal gmacht und paar wiiteri Gorillaz Perle entdeckt. Juhuiii! Grosse Shout-out an Damon Albarn wie er mit Gorillaz Ziitloosi Pionier-Arbeit gleistet het. Geile huere Soubock du! Git Abgrundeti 4 Elephante

Ha mi eich sehr gfreut und denkt es chund es 4er album. Aber es hed nöd gfäggt, wie ein gorilla, eher biz nervig , wie e mücke, gsi. 1 big up banger track langed aber nöööd. Isch nur d frag öb de grey-back gorilla na ei oder zwei wiiteri gorilla im rudel hed.? Namal driskippe, drückt uf 3 ufe

grüezi ex-favourite band! chund bi wiitem nöd ah demon days ane, aber top debut album! tomorrow comes today klare standout, clint eastwood scho au banger aber muess säge: de nervt mi mengisch chli ich gspüre es gad wieder berguuf mit de qualität wo eus da de generator serviert – me gusta wie en gorilla chlopf ich mir drüehalb mal uf d‘brust & wie en noah werded die drüehalb chlopfer uf vier chlopfer ufgrundet

I enjoyed the music but hated the rapping. That was unnecessary and jarring for no reason. This album was slightly redeemed by having an interesting vibe and uniqueness.

Cool but not too cool

Really? I have to listen this before I die? Why?

postives: + i liked the 2000s pop vibe + was a better version of the wu-tang clan + the songs i listened to were a good length negatives: - i didnt get to listen to the whole album - i didnt know any songs my favourite songs: N/A

Good album overall

Gorillaz is an amazing band, but this album is not their best, even though it has some bangers - tomorrow comes today, Clint Eastwood, 19-2000. I hope demon days and plastic beach are on the list too

Totally mid for me. The songs are nice and chill for studying or something but I’m not going to be coming back to this for listening

Very easy listening.

Oh man, this album takes me back. Listened to it nonstop in highschool.

Mediocre. One good song so far. Heard till rock the house

tough listen for most of these here folks slow country m1a1

I’ve liked other music by Gorillaz but I didn’t like this album

Mixed feelings. Some songs are great, some I can't stand.

A maior parte do disco é um punhado de colagens disconexas e confusas, sem nenhuma melodia. "Rock The House" e "19-2000" trazem algum apelo melódico, mas sem despertar o interesse. Um álbum que soa como uma piada despretenciosa, sem nenhuma intenção de fazer ou mostrar algo, musicalmente.

I remember this being better. I like the songs with Del and 1 or two of the others.

It has some tracks I enjoyed but overall it doesn’t do enough for me

2/3

The hits were good. The rest was pretty meh

It’s ok. A lot of just electro-noodling.

8/10 - Although Demon Days is objectively a better album, gorillaz debut feels like there’s more soul, more passion behind it. It’s quite a coincidence this album is after a blur album. It’s presents a bold new creative outlet from Damon, resulting in a great experimental album

Like this album, it's very unique, although it is.my least favourite goerilaz album, Clint Eastwood and tomorrow comes today are amazing tunes

Damon Albarn with the Gorillaz is better than Damon Albarn with Blur. He has four albums on this list, that's insane. This is a long album. And four songs in it's starting to feel long. Clint Eastwood was the hit and their big break. I remember liking it when it came out but it felt like it was overplayed very quickly. Man Research (Clapper) was cool for about three minutes. Unfortunately it went on for four and a half minutes. Every song seems very internally repetitive. The vocal affectation Albarn is putting on is getting really annoying as the album progresses. Double Bass without the singing is probably the best track on the album. The poorly played flute is not a positive addition to Rock the House. Del The Funky Homosapien is so tied to the Gorillaz that I think of his songs with them first. 19-2000 was the other big hit with the girl from Cibo Matto singing about cool shoeshines. It's still the best song on the album. Followed by a song with the Buena Vista Social Club guy that is easily the worst song on the album. Starshine has Albarn's weird voice on full display and then Slow Country is the same four words over and over again....needless to say the album is continuing to go downhill. And then M1 A1 is some clip of a guy yelling, "Is anyone there?" for almost two minutes. This album is too long. Bong noises, found sound recording of an Asian woman talking about playing an instrument, it all adds up to a terrible song. And ending with a remix of the album's first single. Jamaican guy talking, sped up, stripped down music, dance hall rapping...I don't love the original but this is worse.

If you produce this kinda stuff its as well to hide behind cartoons.

Listened in the truck via YouTube music. If I ever listened to this all the way through it would have been around when Demon days came out. Lots of variety here, but this was just the beginning of what Gorillaz would become. The Clint Eastwood remix at the end was a fun surprise.

Didn’t really like it. Sounded a bit painful and druggy

Honestly, a little disappointing? As much as I love Demon Days and Plastic Island + the songs I already knew from the debut, a little surprised by just how inconsistent this is. It's got a good vibe throughout and is saved by its best moments, but there's a reason a lot of these deep cuts aren't very well remembered. 3.5/5

4/5

мне понравилось, хип-хоп не зашел а вот остальное очень даже интересное. Если абстрагироваться от того кто исполнитель то вообще хорошо

• Mixed bag: a few really good tracks, a few fun and interesting experiments, and some filler that should probably have been left off

Есть интересные песни

wow this is much more dark and slow than i remember.... emphasis on the slow

While I've always loved Jamie Hewlett's artwork, I never quite got into Tank Girl - it seems to do that thing that British comics always do where they make a huge deal of trying really hard to distance themselves from other comics... this comic is way too cool to be like all those other lame comics, look how subversive and different we are! And, in a way, that kind of sums up Gorillaz too - it's all a bit tongue-in-cheek and self-indulgent, at times you almost feel they are mocking the styles they are aping (hah - APING) rather than respecting them, a kind of snobbish "making *insert musical genre* is easy, look - we did it with a load of cartoon characters in our lunch hour" vibe. It's hard to judge Gorillaz without bringing all that baggage to the table, which perhaps is a little unfortunate. Their strengths are also their greatest weakness - I can't help thinking the very nature of Gorillaz sets the music up as something superficial; something not to be taken too seriously. I wasn't massively bowled over by it at the time - it's certainly an ambitious project in many respects, catchy and interesting in patches, but rarely both at the same time. I'd say I've definitely warmed to this album over the years to a degree, but it still has a lightweight, experimental feel to it, which is, perhaps, intentional, but, either way, it is lacking some real substance.

I remember liking this in high school. Still do, but not as much.

Soft 5. I think it's good overall, but not as iconic as some of their other work. Good instrumentals and vocal work. 'Clint Eastwood' is always a classic, but 'Sound Check (Gravity)' was my fave.

get the cool shoe shine

Pretty standard electronic sounds, synths and loops... unnecessarily quirky. Its like coworker music for 9/11 millennials. Correction* its a nursery rhyme for millenials

This was a very different album, some very good some not so good i would rate it a 3.5 but with out that .5 system it safly is a 3

Un disco que tiene unos cuantos hits inmediatamente reconocibles. Pero pareció interesante que los temas menos conocidos tienen cierto grado de experimental. Así bien me gustó siento que es un poco largo, hacia el final me costaba continuar prestando atención a la música.

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