Gorillaz are a British virtual band whose output has spanned more genres than it has albums, but can most generally be described as a form of indie rock. Within the fictional universe that the band’s music inhabits, its lineup consists of vocalist and keyboardist 2D, bassist Murdoc, guitarist and backing vocalist Noodle and drummer Russel. Each of these is a cartoon character drawn by the band’s resident animator Jamie Hewlett, while the majority of the music over the years has been produced by Damon Albarn, the former frontman of Britpop band Blur.
Their work can generally be divided into two periods, with the dividing line coming in the form of a hiatus the band took from 2012 to 2015. The former period consists of 2001’s self-titled album, 2005’s Demon Days, as well as 2010’s Plastic Beach and The Fall. With the exception of the latter (essentially a collection of bonus tracks for Plastic Beach produced primarily on the then-new iPad), each of these albums rightly enjoyed widespread acclaim, with particular praise directed at the band’s unique fusion of several different genres and their often potent lyrics, addressing hot-button topics such as environmentalism.
While their latter-period output, consisting of 2017’s Humanz, 2018’s The Now Now and 2020’s Song Machine: Season One has been commercially successful with each album charting within the top 5 of the Billboard 200 album chart, their quality has not remained as consistent. The band’s fusion of genres has gotten clumsier, their lyrics less hard-hitting, all alongside an increasing reliance on features from popular artists that can dull the band’s unique sound.
It would be nice to say that Cracker Island avoids these pitfalls entirely, but that is not the case. That is not to say that the album is a total failure or even their worst offering in recent years, but it fails to live up to the heights the band once reached.
One word that that sums up the album well is “inconsistent.” Once again the album covers a number of different genres, including electro-funk, one reggaeton track and the band’s traditional synth-heavy indie rock sound. Tracks in the latter style, such as “The Tired Influencer”, “Baby Queen” and “Possession Island” with Beck are reminiscent of the band’s early work in a good way, taking a sound that worked for them in the past and updating it with more modern-sounding percussion that distinguishes it.
Other tracks are less successful. The album’s title track and opener, featuring Thundercat, include some truly unpleasant synth work and gaudy backing vocals, redeemed only slightly by a quality bassline from its featured artist. And “Tormenta” with Bad Bunny unfortunately falls into the aforementioned trend of featured artists dominating the track, with this one being virtually indistinguishable from a solo Bad Bunny track, and not an especially memorable or good one.
That is a unique case though, as the features, even some of the bigger ones, are used far more tastefully than in the past. Stevie Nicks and Beck play mostly a supporting role on their tracks, providing solid backing vocals for Albarn’s good-as-usual lead. And while “New Gold” with Tame Impala and Bootie Brown consists mostly of vocals from its featured artists, its instrumental is still recognizably a Gorillaz one, and the featured artists adapt to it, not the other way around.
While the album is overall less conceptual than past works like Plastic Beach, some themes do emerge, primarily relating to internet culture. The title track tells the story of an island cult, reflective of the echo chambers many fall into online. “The Tired Influencer” discusses, as the title suggests, the exhausting nature of influencer culture and the psychological toll it can take on those that engage in it. And “Skinny Ape” deals with the digital native generation and the potential it has to usher in a new world, hopefully for the better. None of these topics or takes on them are especially original, but they’re competently handled, and make sense with the ground Gorillaz have tread previously.
Overall, Cracker Island is a competently made, if at times frustrating project. It doesn’t offer anything Gorillaz haven’t done better, but avoids the problems of their worst work. Those who are more fond of the band’s post-hiatus work will probably enjoy this one a lot as well, and those who fall in our camp will still find a couple tracks for their playlist. If you’re curious, check it out, but Gorillaz have a lot better work in their past.
Overall: 6/10
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