Music Review: Plastic Beach by Gorillaz

The latest album by Gorillaz, Plastic Beach, is here, and I couldn’t be happier to report that it’s definitely what I like to call “shit-hot”. Putting aside for a moment that the band is basically British anime, any album that starts out with both an orchestra and Snoop Dogg deserves a spot in your playlist rotation. If you disagree with that statement, you should probably surf to a site like You’rePrettyDamnWrong.org. Crap, now I have to go register that site and put up something pithy. While I do that, you click through to read more after the jump and find out why this album is currently amazing me.

From the opening moments of Plastic Beach, I couldn’t help but think that I was definitely in for some good Gorillaz. I’ll admit that I wasn’t a fan of the entire Demon Days album. Some songs got a little too experimental for me, and overall it was a little too somber for me to really get into. They rectify that situation in spades on Plastic Beach, however, with even the slowest songs still feeling upbeat.

Take, for example, the song White Flag. This song is somehow both smooth and raucous, getting me pumped up in a calm way. Sound like a contradiction? Welcome to the Gorillaz. The disc is definitely in a beat-driven frame of mind this time around, which will probably lead to these songs (or remixes thereof) being a staple on dance floors and roadtrips alike.

There’s plenty for geeks to like here, as well. The entire album plays like the soundtrack to the world’s best unmade anime, and the song Superfast Jellyfish sounds like a commercial from the Serenity ‘verse. Hearing that play in the background while our favorite browncoat got into a firefight would make a whole lot of sense.

Overall, it lacks the pure drama of an album like Muse‘s Resistance (also a fantastic album for any geek to own), but still manages to have enough weight to be worth your time. I say pick it up if you like quick rhymes paired with smooth lyrics, heavy beats next to a little rock, and some pop in your alternative. There’s also an iTunes version that includes iTunes LP and has some cool interactive features and videos, if you swing that way.