Project Description

GORILLAZ

‘The Now Now’

(Album Review)

Reviewer: Yasmin Richards

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Despite mixed and lukewarm reviews from Mojo and Pitchfork, ‘The Now Now’ proves yet again to be another Avant-garde journey that steers further away from the comfortable memories of ‘Demon Days’ and into a more remote journey to the not so distant future. It trades the flat-surfaced, zombie-like and t-shirt wearing apes for almost humanistic, three-dimensional caricatures.

In twenty years, the world has seen Gorillaz broaden their horizons and evolve their sound. In particular, this album speaks highly of becoming more diverse and open-minded to using different genres, highlights the risk of new artistic endeavours and makes it impossible for the band to be pigeonholed.

‘Humility’ starts off the album as a beach friendly tune that incorporates a hullabaloo of synthesizers and funky guitars yet hides a message of internal conflict and isolation. It sets the scene for the ensuing tracks that project turmoil, melancholy and a fast-paced, conflicted society.

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You can tell by the feature artists that ‘Hollywood’ was quite possibly the most thought out track on the album. With its inclusion of Snoop Dogg and ‘80s house composer Jamie Principle, one would consider this as creative bait to attracting the younger demographic. While Snoop Dogg complimented the slow-paced beats with spoken word, the rap on Jamie’s behalf felt a little less friendly to the verse and ultimately appeared as unnecessary filler.

For what could have been an incredible album that carefully accentuates it’s influences and makes way for powerful lyrics, it failed to meet my expectations. There was a severe lack of energy shown by slow-paced instrumentals to accompany a lifetime of exhaustion showcased by Damon Albarn’s faltering vocals and if anything, felt like another cash grab of an album. Had more time been dedicated to the construction and execution of this album, it may not have fallen so short. With a rumour that they are preparing another album due to be released in the forthcoming year, I can only hope that this new direction in which they are taking with strengthen.

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