When the Gorillaz project came into existence, the purpose was clear: Blur’s Damon Albarn was not initiating a bland side project. He was, along with artist Jamie Hewlett, creating a world, a band, and, most importantly, a satirical prototype of musical fame, a colorful superhero costume intended to disguise his existence as a British tabloid target. While Albarn is still propagating the same characters on Plastic Beach, he has, for the most part, lost the magic of his disguise.
Shoddily compiled guest performances and an unconvincingly loose theme of environmentalism weigh on Albarn’s vision, and one constantly gets the feeling that the Blur front man just isn’t trying that hard anymore. While the Gorillaz’ 2005 effort, Demon Days, soared at its high points, incorporating refreshingly odd guest performances from well-known names, Plastic Beach is content to wallow in its deep funk, occasionally mixing in an unremarkable contribution from a usually exciting contributor.
Rarely, though, this formula does work. On “White Flag,” British rappers Bashy and Kano spit a passionate mantra over a brilliantly eclectic composition by The National Orchestra for Arabic Music, and the gorgeous “Some Kind of Nature” features a cotton-mouthed Lou Reed. However, these few bright points are outweighed by apathetic and lackluster contributions from Snoop Dogg on “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach,” Mos Def on “Stylo,” and Bobby Womack on “Cloud of Unknowing.” Even De La Soul, who breathed life into Demon Days’ “Feel Good Inc.,” can’t come through on “Superfast Jellyfish,” a song that is most interesting for its sample of a 1986 commercial for Great Starts Breakfasts.
On the rare occasion that Albarn is left to his own devices, he has a greater rate of success. The mesmerizing “Rhinestone Eyes” is propelled by surreal, industrial-themed lyricism, and the closer, “Pirate Jet,” blasts forward with an overpowering funk beat. But Albarn himself can’t save the band’s latest, an album that often dissolves into an overlong conglomeration of guest spots. However, Plastic Beach certainly deserves revisiting, and with patience it is possible to make some sense of the work’s spastic ideas. For most people, though, these ideas will never quite find their way to shore.
3 Stars
