New Gorillaz album - Cracker Island

[windymiller]

Its like last years solo album again. Drip feed of tracks at various concerts and performances for nearly a year before it's finally released physically.
And all because of vinyl.
Really got the feeling initially it would be a surprise quick release like The Now Now.

[aldamasta]

I was at their Brooklyn show last night, and I’m going to their Philly shows on Friday and Saturday (couldn’t resist!) A few rambling thoughts on last night…

• I can see why Damon loves Gorillaz so much. He appears to have SO much fun, and gets a huge kick out of the audience participation. He’s done this for years now, but he never fails to mention something along the lines of his gratitude for America in embracing Gorillaz.
• I’m officially feeling like an older fan! I was surrounded by teenagers, and it was so great to see their wild reactions to almost every song. Plastic Beach especially seems to really speak to my generation and younger. Many were (likely) having their first concert experience, and it reminded me of my first concerts. Sheer bliss! The longevity and somehow growing popularity of Gorillaz is nuts!
• Gorillaz are top notch live. The band is so tight, and as always Seye is such a rock n roll star. Occasionally Jeff is mixed too loudly and plays slightly erratically (personal opinion), but still tops. I’d argue much better than when I first saw them in 2017, but perhaps that’s recency bias or the setlist. Speaking of,
• the setlist is fantastic. Damon has under his belt so many bangers with Gorillaz alone that pretty much everything is a crowd pleaser. O Green World with the piano intro, and Skinny Ape (my favorite of the new tunes) were some of my favorites. There was rarely, if ever, a slow down.
• the sound in the Barclays Center is a bit shit, should be better at The Met in Philly, a MUCH smaller venue.
• Damon must be worn out. He takes only a couple of tactical breaks (during Dirty Harry I remember last night), but this tour has been enormous and he really puts his all into every show. By the end I could sense he was a bit worn out, but no quality is sacrificed because of it. The whole band deserves a nice long break after this… shame the album hasn’t released yet as surely they’ll do some promotional stuff for it. The UK deserves a proper tour right?

And that’s it for now. Really great night, always a pleasure and privilege to see them live. Thanks for reading!

[jonathas]

I have to say, having read Graham's book, and this post, I find it fairly inescapably obvious that everyone's best interests are served by Damon prioritising Gorillaz and Blur remaining on the back burner. It's clear that Damon needs constant interaction and commitment from his band and audience, and it's equally clear that Graham needs stability and domesticity. He has been falling off the wagon repeatedly, all the way up to 2017, and it feels from the book like Blur reunions always cause him to fall back into bad habits. Gorillaz is perfect for Damon. I hope The Waeve proves to be perfect for Graham.

[daii]

I have to say, having read Graham's book, and this post, I find it fairly inescapably obvious that everyone's best interests are served by Damon prioritising Gorillaz and Blur remaining on the back burner. It's clear that Damon needs constant interaction and commitment from his band and audience, and it's equally clear that Graham needs stability and domesticity. He has been falling off the wagon repeatedly, all the way up to 2017, and it feels from the book like Blur reunions always cause him to fall back into bad habits. Gorillaz is perfect for Damon. I hope The Waeve proves to be perfect for Graham.

I had the same feeling after reading the book, Damon put together such a great band for Gorillaz, he doesn't need to worry about anything, if there's a problem he can easily replace anyone and move on, he can't do that with blur, and I think he's pretty self-aware of what touring and pressure does to Graham.

[jonathas]

I should add to my points that I also believe Graham is intelligent, self-aware and has been through lots of therapy in recent years, so I have lots of faith in him too. I don't mean to suggest that he's incapable of looking after himself, and nor that he wouldn't get a lot out of doing more Blur. But instinctively, I feel like it might be less fun for those guys than it would be for us.

[John_d]

I was at their Brooklyn show last night, and I’m going to their Philly shows on Friday and Saturday (couldn’t resist!) A few rambling thoughts on last night…

• I can see why Damon loves Gorillaz so much. He appears to have SO much fun, and gets a huge kick out of the audience participation. He’s done this for years now, but he never fails to mention something along the lines of his gratitude for America in embracing Gorillaz.
• I’m officially feeling like an older fan! I was surrounded by teenagers, and it was so great to see their wild reactions to almost every song. Plastic Beach especially seems to really speak to my generation and younger. Many were (likely) having their first concert experience, and it reminded me of my first concerts. Sheer bliss! The longevity and somehow growing popularity of Gorillaz is nuts!
• Gorillaz are top notch live. The band is so tight, and as always Seye is such a rock n roll star. Occasionally Jeff is mixed too loudly and plays slightly erratically (personal opinion), but still tops. I’d argue much better than when I first saw them in 2017, but perhaps that’s recency bias or the setlist. Speaking of,
• the setlist is fantastic. Damon has under his belt so many bangers with Gorillaz alone that pretty much everything is a crowd pleaser. O Green World with the piano intro, and Skinny Ape (my favorite of the new tunes) were some of my favorites. There was rarely, if ever, a slow down.
• the sound in the Barclays Center is a bit shit, should be better at The Met in Philly, a MUCH smaller venue.
• Damon must be worn out. He takes only a couple of tactical breaks (during Dirty Harry I remember last night), but this tour has been enormous and he really puts his all into every show. By the end I could sense he was a bit worn out, but no quality is sacrificed because of it. The whole band deserves a nice long break after this… shame the album hasn’t released yet as surely they’ll do some promotional stuff for it. The UK deserves a proper tour right?

And that’s it for now. Really great night, always a pleasure and privilege to see them live. Thanks for reading!

Thanks very much for all your info. Great read.

If I was Damon I would be in no huge rush to tour the UK. The project doesn't seem to have the same engagement here at all. I can't get my head around these massive rooms that Gorillaz are playing in North America. It's mental. I'm so happy for Damon.

At Primavera Sound in Barcelona at the start of June I couldn't decide if Damon was on something (more than just rum...) or if he looks after himself really well. His eyes were so bright.

I've heard some criticism of Jeff for his excessive use of slide but essentially Damon needs a robust highly accomplished guitarist and that's what Jeff is.

The setlist is great. Really something for everyone. I'm glad DARE is back in. I think the only strange omissions are saturnz barz and humility. These are 2 of their overall biggest songs (stats-wise, I think theyre tier b or tier c kind of works, personally), so it's weird they're dropped. I always loved New Genious so it's very cool it's now in there. Wonder who lobbied for its inclusion tho. Quite a random one.

[idreamofpikas]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj6UFJiO5Cs

Finally an official release.

[Neal Zeal]

I've not been following the recent Gorillas stuff but this Baby Queen song sounds good on first listen.
Has Damon rediscovered his melodic gift?

[John_d]

Ooft. Baby Queen is more than decent. Just Damon and a lovely melody and up to date production. As far as "pop" songs go, these 3 Cracker Island "singles" are arguably of a higher quality than anything since Demon Days.

[dougharrison]

I would put heavy, heavy emphasis on the word "arguably"

[John_d]

I would put heavy, heavy emphasis on the word "arguably"

Which set of singles do you think are better? Baby Queen feels like a companion to The Tower of Montivideo. Which was one of the best things on last year's solo album. I wonder if "Dream Songs" was almost a project. Rather than "Iceland Songs".

[dougharrison]

I would put heavy, heavy emphasis on the word "arguably"

Which set of singles do you think are better? Baby Queen feels like a companion to The Tower of Montivideo. Which was one of the best things on last year's solo album. I wonder if "Dream Songs" was almost a project. Rather than "Iceland Songs".

Personally I love the first two cracker islands singles but baby queen doesn't do much for me. Off the top of my head Do Ya Thing, Melancholy Hill, Momentary Bliss and Desole I prefer to BQ, but just my opinion. Fwiw I liked, but didn't love, nearer the fountain

[John_d]

I would rank recognisable sets of "singles" from mainstream or mainstream-ish projects since Demon dayz (which I think is Damon's absolute peak) as follows - its some set of songs when you write it all out!

Stylo, On Melancholy Hill, rhinestone eyes
Cracker Island, New gold, baby queen
Herculean, kingdom of doom, Green fields
Humility, tranz, souk eye
Momentary bliss, desole, aries
Polaris, royal morning blue, darkness to light
Everyday robots, lonely press play, heavy seas of love
Go out, lonesome Street, ong ong (I genuinely don't like the first 2 of this set, unfortunately)
Saturnz barz, andromeda, strobelite (tbh the first 2 here came out together - whoever was doing the PR or radio plugging for Humanz seemed to have a disaster)
Merrie land didn't have a singles cycle, I only heard the title track a wee bit

[dougharrison]

I think gun to the head and there are too many of us, were also considered singles, but in these days of not having a physical release it's all a bit phyrric, it's more like previewed tracks than singles as I know them. Off to go shout at some clouds.

EDIT: on the pedantry note I think all of song machine was supposed to be singles wasn't it, although I kinda agree with you those 3, plus pagans are the ones I think of. Should it not be superfast jellyfish rather than RE from PB?

[tom_cas1]

There was a point when new Gorillaz material seemed to have died off and now we're getting new albums thick and fast. I very much enjoyed Song Machine and I'm looking forward to this one. Haven't heard any of the songs that have been released so far. I'll wait to listen to the album in its entirety.