buffyleigh
2
This is a bit sentimental as I listened to this album a lot when it came out, but of course it's a great record. It's very diverse, it shows all Albarn is capable of, it has 5 stars guests, it can go from son cubano to trip hop to abrasive rock. It's a mess, but a beautiful one. This introduced me to trip hop back in the day and seriously broaden my musical horizon.
Many bands adopt stage personas, hiding behind elaborate makeup or costumes. Gorrillaz go one step further, being an entirely virtual band with cartoon avatars drawn in Jamie Hewlett’s distinctive style. Gimmicks aside, this is pretty good stuff - lo fi beats and samples, with a bit of rap thrown in, although I wonder how successful it would have been if it hadn’t been obvious from the start that Damon Albarn was behind it all.