Although Damon Albarn is a genius and I trust him, I'm really hoping they don't completely convert to this sound that seems to be prevalent in their new work. Aaand please bring back MF Doom.

New album is going to be sooo epic.

Also, you guys know there is no relation between Monkey Journey To The West and Gorrilaz except Damon Albarn...right?

Woo! New album! Looking forward to it.
I remember ordering the "Gorillaz" album on amazon or something and waiting for it for days! haha! I don't even remember why i ordered it or how i even heard of them! glad i did though

I saw that Mark E. Smith and Lou Reed will be on the new album. This just makes the waiting even harder...

lou reed?

something tells me that could be genius. i was gonna take my time in getting it but now i think this is gonna be a day of release kind of thing.

I'm not excited for the new album. The single sucks dick.

Mark E Smith?It's a decision so random and contrary that it must have been his.

i actually quite liked that single. it fits in with the direction they were headed with demon days. very minimalistic and beat driven.

i was nervous when you said it was bad...but after i gave it a listen i am still pretty excited for the new album.

Agreed, that single sounds great to my ears. I like that beat, wow. Simple, but sick. :thumb:

Dude.......I feel so uninformed. They have a new album out that I don't own yet and another one out in a month. Such a n00b.

Wrong. Jamie Hewlett plays a pretty big role in both. Not sure if he had anything to do with Gorillaz musically - but he sorta created the 'band'.

Mark E Smith + Lou Reed + Gorillaz?

Could be epic, could be failure, I have high hopes.

Yep. Hewlett came up with all the visuals for both. For Gorillaz he created what we envision as the Gorillaz, and for Journey to the West he created all the stage props which were displayed during their live performances, I believe. While he doesn't really contribute musically, he's still huge.

New single up. Just click on the link and it automatically plays. I like it. Simple but effective.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach | Gorillaz.com

I love Plastic Beach...Its soothing and danceable, its repetitive yet moves along beautifully, I haven't looked up the lyrics yet but a few lines stood out brilliantly, it was edited just enough to sound robotic without being ridiculous.....
Anyone disagree? Lets wrestle.

I disagree. I demand that you mud wrestle my girlfriend.

(really, I agree, I just want to see a mud throw down)

Demon Days wasn't minimalist at all, but Stylo sounds like a minimal version of Demon Days with all the fun sucked out of it.

:bowdown:

demon days was totally minimalist...well maybe minimalist is too strong of a word.

sure it had your typical dancy tunes that got played on the radio but i'd say a good 3/4 of the album was very chilled and toned down. just listen to their debut and then demon days and tell me then they weren't headed in this direction.

Electronic
 

I would call their music Electronic

*facepalm*

I think that, a while back, there was someone who posted under the name "pastor of muppets". That made my day.

I think that Gorillaz are gorillaz music. I prefer to classify their songs individually.
But I've only heard Demon Days, and there's some stuff which is most definitely electronica, some stuff which is most definitely hip-hop, and some stuff which sounds very pop-ish.
Even in that one album, you get cross-genre stuff. I mean, it's very had for me to think of a non cross-genre album off the top of my head. If you think about it, there's usually at least one abnormal song in most albums.
And, therefore, while genre can be useful as an exercise and useful to find music similar to that you like, it is by no means reasonable to label an artist as only one genre.

What about Chiddy Bang Stylo remix? Has anyone heard? very-very-very nice
I recommend you. fresh and hot - came out on Friday

I have to say, Stylo has been growing on me a lot. Really excited for Plastic Beach.

i have had for a bit. only heard it onceish and it didn't impress. need to hear it more.

Listen to the album on NPR:
First Listen: Gorillaz : NPR

Not sure what I think yet...

Music video for Stylo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs

Thanks jayfin! Im going to dive in now, probably wont make it through, but will finish up in the am if I don't. Either way, muchas gracias and I'll let you know what I think.

No problemo dude. I have listened to it once through (with a break in the middle to do an errand), and I actually really enjoyed it. It's different, that's for sure. And sure, people bash the rappers. That is bound to happen. But i was really feeling it. I think I liked the first half better than the second, but that may because i took a break, then came back.

listened to it 4 times now.

really like it, definitely different from the s/t or demon days, but still a really enjoyable album.

On Melancholy Hill is beautiful.

I've had this album for a couple days now, must've listened to it 5 or 6 times, and I adore it. It's so amazing.

Here's what I think of Plastic Beach after hearing it 2x. Don't like it.

i don't like it either, and I loved demon days. everything sounds so safe.

I.. like it. A good bit. One listen through down.

Here is what I think of the album after a couple listens. I love it so much.

Interesting take. One reason that I find the album disappointing is that I think that Damon Albarn is a rare type of musician who impresses me more as time goes by. This time he didn't, though.
As for the guests: I can appreciate that they had a good time making the album but, to me, that's more proof that making music can be much more rewarding than listening to music that other people make. If Mos Def really thinks this is his best work or whatever he said then I disagree pretty strongly with him about his own music.
I don't hate the album and will probably listen to it more but so far it's headed for the recycle bin.

All of the reviews I've read of Plastic Beach seem to be saying its good but not as strong as the last two albums... this is a formula which can often result in fan disappointment...

I've only given Plastic Beach one listen, and didn't enjoy too much to be honest, ill give it another few goes at some point though.

Perhaps it's a grower... I'm vaguely intrigued by it, because for the first time, I don't feel like I have been bombarded with everything Gorillaz...

Ok, I'm most of the way through my second listen now, and I'm enjoying it much more this time around, maybe I'm just in a better state of mind for it this time around, who knows. But a the songs with Damons vocals on do just make me want to listen to Blur a lot of the time.

I miss having a Blur album out every couple of years... I wish they'd all bury the hatchet and hit the studio again...