Gorillaz are back with their new album, Cracker Island. Despite taking a loss in 2017 with Humanz, the evergreen project of Damon Albarn continues to sustain a steady stream of goodness in their input. The Now Now quickly rectified desires for a more Gorillaz-centric Gorillaz album, and 2020’s Song Machine was an interesting concept that delivered on all fronts.
Now back to a standard format, Cracker Island aims to trim the fat as it boasts ten tracks that maintain a good pace throughout. Opening with the title track, the record sets off well with a beat that slips straight into the hips. Offering a rhythm that is undeniably catchy. Its arsenal of synths, bass and grooves creates a song that is hard to resist. Bolstered wonderfully by Thundercat’s basslines and falsetto, it is a banger.
As expected, an impressive array of guests feature on the record. Stevie Nicks offers her voice on the affection-bombing ‘Oil’, Tame Impala and Bootie Brown bring the good vibes on ‘New Gold’ and Bad Bunny shines on the breezy vibes of ‘Tormenta’. And while its great to bring extras into the mix, the results are so-so. The aforementioned ‘Oil’ removes too much of the tempo, whereas ‘New Gold’ sounds like anything but a Gorillaz song.
In fact, it’s the Gorillaz-only tracks that fare best on Cracker Island. ‘Baby Queen’ has a throwback quality to it that’s reminiscent of the Plastic Beach days, and ‘Tarantula’ offers a playful escape towards the height of Disco. But the real highlight is ‘Skinny Ape’ – a song that starts off small but utilises the vulnerable, distorted synths brilliantly to blossom into an anthemic sound that will leave the ears ringing for ages. With absurd imagery laced throughout these colourful sounds, it is a real gem.
While a more concise effort, Cracker Island does stumble in parts where it tries to incorporate too much into its music. But largely, Gorillaz have delivered an album that’s thoroughly enjoyable and proves they can still hang with the crowd.