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Gorillaz Video Screening
Gathered in a small studio in London’s Soho, you have to wonder what could possibly be so impressive about the new Gorillaz video that Britain’s journalists have been shepherded together for a screening. New single “On Melancholy Hill”...Read the full article.....
Frankie & The Heartstrings : Interview
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Sometimes, (not often mind), you go to see a band with a vague sense of expectation, born from nothing more than early releases and odd pieces of press, only for, by some twist of fate, this band you considered “fairly decent” until now to prove one of the...Read the full article.....
Save BBC 6 Music : Consultation
As many of you will be aware Digital radio stations BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network are facing closure as part of a shake-up of the BBC. This proposal has caused general outcry amongst musicians and music fans alike...Read the full article.....
The Drums : Interview
Full of nostalgic charm, The Drums have taken the music scene by surprise in one of the most unlikeliest success stories this year. Harking back to a golden age of music, their surf-tinged indie pop...Read the full article.....
Acid Washed : Interview
Acid Washed are the Parisian duo of Andrew Claristidge and Richard D'Alpert, and although they have day jobs, after hearing their polished self-titled Record Makers debut album, you’d think they’d be full-time musicians... Read the full article.....
Gorillaz : Plastic Beach
What is a Plastic Beach? Is it a metaphor for the consumerist world and its destruction of the planet? Or is it a genius way of not getting sand in your swimming costume? It does not really matter, because... Read the full article.....
Kid Sister
Kid Sister has had a certain amount of notoriety for some time despite her long-awaited debut album only just being dropped after being pushed back over and over again. Such notoriety can be attributed to a number of things...Read the full article.....
Interview with Andy C (RAM Records)
Andrew Clarke, aka Andy C, has been the biggest name in UK drum & bass since it started hitting speakers back in the early 90s. Beginning his career as a producer, he then co-founded the UK’s biggest drum & bass record label to date, RAM Records...Read the full article.....
Hot Chip : One Night in Brixton
Walking through the corridors backstage at the Brixton Academy en route to meet my interview subjects never fails to stir up the musical sentimentality ingrained in me. There is always an air of excitement and adrenaline surging as...Read the full article.....
Beach Break Live 2010
This year sees the return of the UK's biggest student festival, and the ONLY place to be from 14th to 18th June: Beach Break Live 2010, set in the picturesque surroundings of Pembrey Country Park...Read the full article.....
Bigger Than Barry Records
“I was Dj’ing at Mad Decent events in Birmingham when I had this idea come to me...”, sounds like a line from the latest Windows advert. But instead of thinking of ways to complicate PC’s, Tom Short, aka Shorterz, was instead dreaming up his own record label...Read the full article.....
Delphic : Interview
Following a whirlwind 2009, synth masters Delphic show absolutely no sign of letting up. With the release of critically acclaimed debut Acolyte already stamped down as an early achievement...Read the full article.....
Still Flyin' : Interview
San Francisco superband, Still Flyin' have joyously bounded a long way since their joke fuelled dub and reggae infused early development. Their complete refusal to reflect the dark mood of the moment infecting the world...Read the full article.....
Shy Child : Q & A
After a three year hiatus, New York's Shy Child are returning in 2010 with a sound that's more lush, dense, intoxicating, and surprising than ever... Read the full article.....
Slof-Man : Interview
Listing his influences as Benga, Loefah and Skream amongst others, Slof Man makes no apologies for jumping on the Dubstep bandwagon. Despite entering the scene very late, Slof-Man has...Read the full article.....
Plastiscines : Interview
As one of the first signings of Nylon Records in New York, the Parisian all-girl guitar-wielding group Plasticines are back with their sound expanding sophomore record this year. The rock’n’roll of their former effort still exists... Read the full article.....
What or Who to watch out for in 2010
The Noughties are over and we have to say goodbye to the first decade of the Millennium. It is a shame because there was many zeitgeist breaking moments in the decade in the music world. The irony then, that 2009 was a pretty nondescript year, is not lost...Read the full article.....
Albums of The Decade : 2000 - 2009
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of seeing television programmes lamenting what a piss poor decade the so-called ‘noughties’ have been. I mean, a decade is just a period of time definable by the fact that it spans exactly ten years...Read the full article.....
Whats New?
Gorillaz : Plastic Beach
Released: Out Now
What is a Plastic Beach? Is it a metaphor for the consumerist world and its destruction of the planet? Or is it a genius way of not getting sand in your swimming costume? It does not really matter, because at the end of it, Gorillaz have a highly accomplished third album and have managed to keep – for the most part – people on side with their cartoon conceit.
Plastic Beach is proof of Damon Albarn’s almost singular ability of turning all things musical to gold. Demon Days made short shrift of the tough second album tag and really placed them on a mainstream footing with the pop successes “Feel Good Inc”, “Dare” and “Dirty Harry”. Plastic Beach has gone further. By Albarn’s admission this is their poppiest record yet and its list of contributors – Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, De La Soul (again!), Lou Reed, Gruff Rhys, Kano and Mark E. Smith – provide a multi-genre timeline of artists. Yet the album still has that Gorillaz conceptual feel. Images of the natural world being subsumed into a synthetic gloop prevail; “And nobody knows what to do with the heat/Under sunshine pylons we’ll meet while rain is falling like rhinestones from the sky” (Rhinestone Eyes).
Whilst themes of unease, unknowing and artificiality connect the songs, generically the album is disjointed. Often critics look for a linear connection from song to song, but for the record’s argument to work – and this is only one interpretation – the deluge of electro-pop, hip-hop, pop, indie and dance is essential. On a purely commercial note, it is genius to make a record so broken up into individual units. The complaint that no-one buys albums anymore because consumers only want one or two tracks from a record should not apply to Plastic Beach as it is stuffed full for everyone’s taste. The music equivalent of Tesco.
The album is really homage to the talents of Damon Albarn, who you can easily envisage as an artist standing in front of a blank canvas, whirling a brush and producing Rembrandt. His subtleties and composition are so well honed, that each song has stands alone as a triumph. “Empire Ants” which mixes treacle-thick, mournful indie, synth and the ghostly vocals of Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano – in Groove Armada mode – is balanced by the authoritativeness of Mos Def on “Sweepstakes.” Snoop Dogg, Bashy and Kano give punch to the album and yet are overshadowed, paradoxically, by Albarn’s crackly and effete vocals on “Rhinestone Eyes” – an outstandingly evocative critique of consumerism and eco-destruction.
To flood your album with collaborations is a risky business but as with everything else he is done, this writer sits back and doffs his cap to Albarn and his cartoon buddies.
5 Stars
Words: John Elmes
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