It's tempting to judge
Gorillaz --
Damon Albarn,
Tank Girl creator
Jamie Hewlett, and
Dan "The Automator" Nakamura's virtual band -- just by their brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of style over substance. Admittedly,
Hewlett's edgy-cute characterizations of
2-D,
Gorillaz' pretty boy singer (who looks a cross between
the Charlatans'
Tim Burgess and
Sonic the Hedgehog), sinister bassist
Murdoc, whiz-kid guitarist
Noodle, and b-boy drummer
Russel are so arresting that they almost detract from
Gorillaz' music. The amazing
"Thriller"-meets-
Planet of the Apes clip for
"Clint Eastwood" is so visually clever that it's easy to take the song's equally clever,
hip-hop-tinged update of
the Specials'
"Ghost Town" for granted. And initially,
Gorillaz' self-titled debut feels incomplete when
Hewlett's imagery is removed; the concept of
Gorillaz as a virtual band doesn't hold up as well when you can't see the virtual bandmembers. It's too bad that there isn't a DVD version of
Gorillaz, with videos for every song, a la the DVD version of
Super Furry Animals'
Rings Around the World. Musically, however,
Gorillaz is a cutely caricatured blend of
Albarn's eclectic
Brit-pop and
Nakamura's equally wide-ranging
hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the band looks.
Albarn has fun sending up
Blur's cheeky
pop on songs like
"5/4" and
"Re-Hash," their
trip-hop experiments on
"New Genious" and
"Sound Check," and
"Song 2"-like
thrash-
pop on
"Punk" and
"M1 A1." Despite the similarities between
Albarn's main gig and his contributions here,
Gorillaz isn't an
Albarn solo album in disguise;
Nakamura's bass- and beat-oriented production gives the album an authentically
dub and
hip-hop-inspired feel, particularly on
"Rock the House" and
"Tomorrow Comes Today." Likewise,
Del tha Funkee Homosapien,
Miho Hatori, and
Ibrahim Ferrer's vocals ensure that it sounds like a diverse collaboration rather than an insular side project. Instead, it feels like a musical vacation for all parties involved -- a little self-indulgent, but filled with enough fun ideas and good songs to make this virtual band's debut a genuinely enjoyable album. [
Virgin's 2001 edition included two bonus tracks.] ~ Heather Phares
