Damon Albarn went to great pains to explain that the first Gorillaz album was a collaboration between him, cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, and producer Dan the Automator, but any sort of pretense to having the virtual pop group seem like a genuine collaborative band was thrown out the window for the group's long-awaited 2005 sequel, Demon Days. Hewlett still provides new animation for Gorillaz -- although the proposed feature-length film has long disappeared -- but Dan the Automator is gone, leaving Albarn as the unquestioned leader of the group. This isn't quite similar to Blur, a genuine band that faltered after Graham Coxon decided he had enough, leaving Damon behind to construct the muddled Think Tank largely on his own. No, Gorillaz were always designed as a collective, featuring many contributors and producers, all shepherded by Albarn, the songwriter, mastermind, and ringleader. Hiding behind Hewlett's excellent cartoons gave Albarn the freedom to indulge himself, but it also gave him focus since it tied him to a specific concept. Throughout his career, Albarn always was at his best when writing in character -- to the extent that anytime he wrote confessionals in Blur, they sounded stagy -- and Gorillaz not only gave him an ideal platform, it liberated him, giving him the opportunity to try things he couldn't within the increasingly dour confines of Blur. It wasn't just that the cartoon concept made for light music -- on the first Gorillaz album, Damon sounded as if he were having fun for the first time since Parklife. But 2005 is a much different year than 2001, and if Gorillaz exuded the heady, optimistic, future-forward vibes of the turn of the millennium, Demon Days is as theatrically foreboding as its title, one of the few pop records made since 9/11 that captures the eerie unease of living in the 21st century. Not really a cartoony feel, in other words, but Gorillaz indulged in doom and gloom from their very first single, "Clint Eastwood," so this is not unfamiliar territory, nor is it all that dissimilar from the turgid moodiness of Blur's 2003 Think Tank. But where Albarn seemed simultaneously constrained and adrift on that last Blur album -- attempting to create indie rock, yet unsure how since messiness contradicts his tightly wound artistic impulses -- he's assured and masterful on Demon Days, regaining his flair for grand gestures that served him so well at the height of Britpop, yet tempering his tendency to overreach by keeping the music lean and evocative through his enlistment of electronica maverick Danger Mouse as producer.
Demon Days is unified and purposeful in a way Albarn's music hasn't been since The Great Escape, possessing a cinematic scope and a narrative flow, as the curtain unveils to the ominous, morose "Last Living Souls" and then twists and winds through valleys, detours, and wrong paths -- some light, some teeming with dread -- before ending up at the haltingly hopeful title track. Along the way, cameos float in and out of the slipstream and Albarn relies on several familiar tricks: the Specials are a touchstone, brooding minor key melodies haunt the album, there are some singalong refrains, while a celebrity recites a lyric (this time, it's Dennis Hopper). Instead of sounding like musical crutches, this sounds like an artist who knows his strengths and uses them as an anchor so he can go off and explore new worlds. Chief among the strengths that Albarn relies upon is his ability to find collaborators who can articulate his ideas clearly and vividly. Danger Mouse, whose Grey Album mash-up of the Beatles and Jay-Z was an underground sensation in 2004, gives this music an elasticity and creeping darkness than infects even such purportedly lighthearted moments as "Feel Good Inc." It's a sense of menace that's reminiscent of prime Happy Mondays, so it shouldn't be a surprise that one of the highlights of Demon Days is Shaun Ryder's cameo on the tight, deceptively catchy "Dare." Over a tightly wound four minutes, "Dare" exploits Ryder's iconic Mancunian thug persona within territory that belongs to the Gorillaz -- its percolating beat not too far removed from "19/2000" -- and that's what makes it a perfect distillation of Demon Days: by letting other musicians take center stage and by sharing credit with Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn has created an allegedly anonymous platform whose genius ultimately and quite clearly belongs to him alone. All the themes and ideas on this album have antecedents in his previous work, but surrounded by new collaborators, he's able to present them in a fresh, exciting way. And he has created a monster album here -- not just in its size, but in its Frankenstein construction. It not only eclipses the first Gorillaz album, which in itself was a terrific record, but stands alongside the best Blur albums, providing a tonal touchstone for this decade the way Parklife did for the '90s. While it won't launch a phenomenon the way that 1994 classic did -- Albarn is too much a veteran artist for that and the music is too dark and weird -- Demon Days is still one hell of a comeback for Damon Albarn, who seemed perilously close to forever disappearing into his own ego.
I'm currently Listening to the Gorillaz Demon Days album and I completely forgot just how incredibly produced and composed this album is. I was fortunate enough to see Damon Albarn and his extrordinary talented team for 5 nights his at the Apollo Theater 2 years ago. It was by far the most inspiring show I've ever been to, not to mention visually stunning. He's extremely dedicated to having the...
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The Good The Bad And The Queen, the new album by Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Paul Simonon and Simon Tong, will be released next Monday, 22nd January. A limited edition CD/DVD will also be released, featuring live tracks and exclusive interview footage. So those of you Blur fans and or Gorillaz, the wait is finally over. I personally can not wait for this album to come out, it sounds like Damon pu...
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the gorillaz are the sole reason i began opening up to hip-hop and it's culture. by taking the time to really listen, i can detect the amazing amount of work that goes into these songs. before, i was under the impression that hip-hop and rap were effortless, but now i realize the artistic talent and perseverance involved and required. keep it up!
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Hungry..........
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its not that im going through a dry spell, ive just been listening to the same few albums repeatedly over the past month, namely: "this is a long drive.." and "everywhere and his nasty parlour tricks" by modest mouse and "pink" by boris. ive gotten to the point where i need something new...so if you guys want to help me out thatd be great..ive been meaning to check out:devotchka (?)my brightest...
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This song is just too cool, yo.Once upon a time at the foot of a great mountain,there was a town where the people known as Happyfolk lived,their very existence a mystery to the rest of the world,obscured as it was by great clouds.Here they played out their peaceful lives,innocent of the litany of excess and violence that was growing in the world below.To live in harmony with the spirit of the m...
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Per Dana's request, here is the grand post of the day...Please add your favorite albums that put some Dex in your Windex...some Swiff in your Swiffer...Some Fab and Eez in your Fabreeze =)Demon Days started the convo, so they get the tag. But what else is hot? I must add:Jay Z: The Blueprint UncutLinkin Park: MeteoraTraxamillion: The Slapp AddictAdditions, please!
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I really like the Gorillaz's Demon Day Album, produced as it were, by Dangermouse. I have been listening to each song individually, and then this past weekend I gave myself the album experience and listened to it in its entirety from start to finish. Great Album. I think my fav song is El Manana...and I also like "O Green World." Side note: The song Demon Days sounds like a Prince song to me. G...
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Kids with guns.Kids with guns.Taking overThey won't be longMy partner gave me this figurine set for Christmas last year. He got it at Kid Robot http://www.kidrobot.com in SoHo. I was so happy to get it!I fell in love with Gorillaz when I heard their first hit. I kept having this nagging feeling there was something familiar, then I realized that they sounded kind of like Blur. I was right. I l...
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One of the best things about my mom's house is that she has satellite TV. Me, I've never even signed up for cable (TV eats your brain, you know) - but that's not to say I don't indulge. Especially when there's an exclusive broadcast of the Gorillaz performing Demon Days in Manchester!I watched it three times today, I'm not ashamed to admit.The band, true to concept, performs largely in silhouet...
More >
The Good The Bad And The Queen, the new album by Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Paul Simonon and Simon Tong, will be released next Monday, 22nd January. A limited edition CD/DVD will also be released, featuring live tracks and exclusive interview footage. So those of you Blur fans and or Gorillaz, the wait is finally over. I personally can not wait for this album to come out, it sounds like Damon pu...
More >
Hungry..........
More >
This song is just too cool, yo.Once upon a time at the foot of a great mountain,there was a town where the people known as Happyfolk lived,their very existence a mystery to the rest of the world,obscured as it was by great clouds.Here they played out their peaceful lives,innocent of the litany of excess and violence that was growing in the world below.To live in harmony with the spirit of the m...
More >
One of the best things about my mom's house is that she has satellite TV. Me, I've never even signed up for cable (TV eats your brain, you know) - but that's not to say I don't indulge. Especially when there's an exclusive broadcast of the Gorillaz performing Demon Days in Manchester!I watched it three times today, I'm not ashamed to admit.The band, true to concept, performs largely in silhouet...
More >
its not that im going through a dry spell, ive just been listening to the same few albums repeatedly over the past month, namely: "this is a long drive.." and "everywhere and his nasty parlour tricks" by modest mouse and "pink" by boris. ive gotten to the point where i need something new...so if you guys want to help me out thatd be great..ive been meaning to check out:devotchka (?)my brightest...
More >
I'm currently Listening to the Gorillaz Demon Days album and I completely forgot just how incredibly produced and composed this album is. I was fortunate enough to see Damon Albarn and his extrordinary talented team for 5 nights his at the Apollo Theater 2 years ago. It was by far the most inspiring show I've ever been to, not to mention visually stunning. He's extremely dedicated to having the...
More >
2005 was a great year for albums in this decade – possibly the best – and there are many albums that I could have picked to represent that year. This, however, is almost in a league of its own. At the time that Demon Days came out it had been four years since Gorillaz, the [...]
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Kids with guns.Kids with guns.Taking overThey won't be longMy partner gave me this figurine set for Christmas last year. He got it at Kid Robot http://www.kidrobot.com in SoHo. I was so happy to get it!I fell in love with Gorillaz when I heard their first hit. I kept having this nagging feeling there was something familiar, then I realized that they sounded kind of like Blur. I was right. I l...
More >
Per Dana's request, here is the grand post of the day...Please add your favorite albums that put some Dex in your Windex...some Swiff in your Swiffer...Some Fab and Eez in your Fabreeze =)Demon Days started the convo, so they get the tag. But what else is hot? I must add:Jay Z: The Blueprint UncutLinkin Park: MeteoraTraxamillion: The Slapp AddictAdditions, please!
More >
I really like the Gorillaz's Demon Day Album, produced as it were, by Dangermouse. I have been listening to each song individually, and then this past weekend I gave myself the album experience and listened to it in its entirety from start to finish. Great Album. I think my fav song is El Manana...and I also like "O Green World." Side note: The song Demon Days sounds like a Prince song to me. G...
More >
here's a vid I can't help returning to, virtual band Gorillaz from UK makes it a funny experience each time.
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This Gorillaz video is one of my favorites off the Demon Days Album. The brain child of Damon Albarn of Blur and animator Jamie Hewlett, this animated band has rocked the world with their wide range genre of music. Lead singer and pretty boy 2D has the voice of an angel but a constant migraine.Along with asian axe princess Noodle, bad boy bass player Murdoc Niccals and drummer sometimes possess...
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the gorillaz are the sole reason i began opening up to hip-hop and it's culture. by taking the time to really listen, i can detect the amazing amount of work that goes into these songs. before, i was under the impression that hip-hop and rap were effortless, but now i realize the artistic talent and perseverance involved and required. keep it up!
More >
In the interview yesterday where he discussed the possible Blur reunion with Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn said that he is halfway done with the new Gorillaz album. He said to BBC Newsbeat: "I'm halfway through the next Gorillaz album at the minute, That's going to be interesting and different again. This next time around there will be a lot going on in it." Now when he says that he is halfway d...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Intro |
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| 2 Last Living Souls |
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| 3 Kids With Guns |
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| 4 O Green World |
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| 5 Dirty Harry |
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| 6 Feel Good Inc. |
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| 7 El Mańana |
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| 8 Every Planet We Reach Is Dead |
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| 9 November Has Come |
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| 10 All Alone |
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| 11 White Light |
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| 12 Dare |
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| 13 Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head |
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| 14 Don't Get Lost in Heaven |
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| 15 Demon Days |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Demon Days")
