A while ago, when I was at the younger end of the teenage spectrum, I used to fantasize about a band that would release an album that would be 'cross-genre'. As in, they'd do a rap track, then a heavy metal track, then an easy-listening track, then an opera track, then an instrumental, and so on. I used to think to myself: "If I'm ever in a band, that's what I'd do."
Gorillaz isn't that band, and Demon Days isn't that album, but listening to 'DARE', a sort of eightie-esque pop song (sung by Neneh Cherry, no less!), which follows a hard-rockin' grunge track (with heavenly choir breakdown), and is followed by a creepy spoken-word story/song as read by Dennis Hopper; I certainly found myself thinking of that idea more than a few times, and this album comes closer than any than I've heard since the heady days of PWEI-zation.
While I bought and enjoyed the first two Gorillaz singles, I've never heard their first album, and never even considered buying it, mainly due to the odd PR campaign staged by Gorillaz themselves. They were mainly promoted as a 'parody band'. I believe Damon Albarn's exact quote was: "We realized that most bands ended up as cartoons of themselves anyway, so we thought it would be interesting to start the band as a cartoon." That's not exactly the sort of quote that lends one to thinking that they've actually put together a decent album. I figured they were a singles band- just like the bands they were supposedly mocking. (in addition, the singles were mainly promoted through their high-energy remixes, not the trip-hop original versions, which made me think the entire album would be a bit slow).
I've since been told this impression is erroneous and I was so impressed by the single that I made it a point to buy the album to check it out. I was not disappointed- it's a great album.
After a pointless and annoying intro that serves no function whatsoever, Last Living Souls starts with rather low ambitions (simple lyrics over a simple beat), but transcends itself when it breaks into a soulful guitar/piano aside. It's one of the weaker tracks on the album, which makes me wonder why they chose it to open the album with.
Kids With Guns is a vast improvement. A very cool, laid-back trippy-hoppy track which really nice "Turning us into monsters, turning us into fire." chorus.
One of my favourite tracks on the album is O Green World, which is....bizarre. Geez, the whole album is bizarre. So many of the songs just shouldn't work, but do somehow. A chorus of monkey voices over a phat beat create a layer being Albarn's sad, distorted voice, as though it's coming from a long distance away.
Dirty Harry is the natural counter-point to the first big Gorillaz hit, Clint Eastwood, which functions simultaneously as both an endorsement and parody of gun-culture justification, but also hints at a sort of post-apocalyptic world he's trying to survive in.
I need a gun to keep myself from harm The poor people are burning in the sun But they ain't got a chance They ain't got a chance I need a gun Cos all I do is dance
I've got this mate, Ross, and everytime we're in a club or something and really good song comes on he points his finger at the ceiling and says: "Tune." Feel Good Inc. is one of those songs. It's just brilliant. It's like, upbeat and downbeat at the same time. It actually took me a really long time to get around to listening to the rest of the album, as I kept going back to this track (and that's in addition to it being on every radio/tv/ironic iTunes cinema ad for the last two months). A single that you don't get sick to the death of? It's a keeper.
After four flawless songs, the album can afford to relax a little. El Mañana is a sweet, lovesong-esque slice of mellow trip-hop that gets a little samey in the fourth minute, but a really nice gospel-inspired chorus.
While it does have the greatest title of any song ever written, Every Planet We Reach Is Dead is probably the weakest song on the album. The off-beat is difficult and the song never really finds a hook to get going on. Not awful- it's just a tad annoying to listen to, particularly the grating end section.
After two so-so songs, we're back into a run of solid greatness, starting with November Has Come, a sweet hip-hop track fantastically counter-pointed by a beautiful chorus.
All Alone is another odd track that really shouldn't work but really does. After a wicked jungle-esque beat takes you through the first few minutes, but then fades into a truly haunting segment sung by who we drunkenly figured out must surely be the lead singer from Catatonia.
Spirit of Blur be gone! White Light is a burst of 'Song 2'-esquehard rawk, punctuated by a rather ethereal breakdown in the middle. Short, sweet, and to the point. Great track.
DARE is a song I didn't like at first, but now I can't stop singing it and think it will probably be the next single. I must confess I owned Neneh Cherry's album when I was a youngling and unashamedly danced to 'Buffalo Stance' at a party the other week, so it's nice to hear her in action again. I just noticed this song doesn't have any verses, just two choruses. Wierd.
The last three songs are really one ten-minute mega-song, each part not really distinct from the others. It all kicks off with the incredibly strange and cool Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head, which is a short story, or fable, really about 'the people known as Happy Folk' who lived under the shadow of a mountain called Monkey, as read by Dennis Hopper (!), with the occasional melancholy chorus from Albarn. It's creepy and sweet and very interesting. The story rolls right into Don't Get Lost In Heaven, sort of the coda to the story, quiet and beatless, but which feels appropriate. This again rolls directly into Demon Days, which continues with the gospel-theme behind the previous track, but adds a trip-hop beat and takes the album into a slow fade out to silence.
So what have we got there: hip-hop, trip-hop, rap, gospel, storytelling, rawk, 80's pop, ska, indie, ambient, dance. It's not everything, but it's enough. Great album- I wholeheartedly recommend you listen to it. Don't buy the CD, though- the DRM protections are terrible.
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Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head is my favourite track. It's cool in a way very few songs are.
I like The way 'fire coming out of the monkeys' head' segues into 'don't get lost in heaven' and kinda then into 'demon days', really cool three track epic outro action. 'Dare' is also cool, if only for Shaun Riders' ranting. I fucking love that album man,