Tuesday, May 30, 2017

#2468 Gorillaz - Humanz

Why bother putting the 4 virtual band members on the album cover?

The project has never felt less like the product of a band, virtual or otherwise. Hell, even 2d/Albarn disappears for stretches, as an endless parade of guest vocalists wander through the interminably long album's endless hallways of samey beats. I count 24 guest vocalists across the albums 19 tracks (not counting 7 interludes (!)). Does Russel/Remi even show up on this album?

How can an album sound like too much and too little at the same time?

The songs blur (npi) together, every one of the too many of them going on too long, most of them wallowing in an Everyday Robots malaise. The Gorillaz project seemed to give Damon a brief relief from his post-13 misery, but that cloud's wandered back in.

I worry about that guy.

There's signs of life in the middle, with bonkers verses from De La and Danny Brown, little flashes of musical invention. And Busted and Blue's got heart. But the 19 tracks (!) outside that window are limp as shit, and even those work only in spite of the bandless, halfhearted production. A frustrating, soulless album, even inspiring me to go on too damn long 2.5/5

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