Gorillaz

Five years on from the release of Demon Days, Murdoc Niccals and co. aka Gorillaz are back. The band have taken up residence, recording on a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific, a Plastic Beach HQ, made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet.

Plastic Beach is quite an eclectic album with a cast of thousands – I’ve never seen so many guest spots on an album. These range from Snoop Dogg to Lou Reed, with appearances also from The National Orchestra For Arabic Music and Sinfonia ViVA. It could all get quite messy but somehow the 16 tracks remain cohesive throughout this musical journey.

Bizarrely some of the best moments come when Gorillaz go alone - both 'Rhinestone Eyes’ lazy beats and vocals and 'On Melancholy Hill’ – a Coldplay-esque track – are 2 of the stronger tracks on here. Lead single 'Stylo’ also fits the 'best-bits’ category as Bobby Womack delivers some great vocals over a strong electro beat. 'Superfast Jellyfish’ is ably accompanied by De La Soul, and the jovial sound and bizarre samples fits their style perfectly. 'Glitter Freeze' sees The Fall’s Mark E Smith provide the vocals over a modern Glam Rock beat – think The Sweet for the 21st Century. Lou Reed’s vocals on 'Some Kind of Nature’ are less morose than much of his work, and fit seamlessly into the Gorillaz sound.

'Sweepstake’ is delivered by Mos Def and again his fast rhymes fit over the beats perfectly. 'Plastic Beach’ sees The Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon get together again to perform a surprisingly restrained number considering their background.

This is by no means an instant album. If does take some repeated listens to get under the skin (or should that be plastic) of Plastic Beach, but do hold on in there – you will ultimately be rewarded with quite a unique and diverse album that will not be emulated during 2010.

The full tracklisting is:

1. Orchestral Intro (featuring Sinfonia ViVA)
2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3. White Flag (feat. Kano, Bashy and The National Orchestra For Arabic Music)
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
6. Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
7. Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)
8. Glitter Freeze (feat. Mark E Smith)
9. Some Kind Of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. Plastic Beach (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)
14. To Binge (feat. Little Dragon)
15. Cloud Of Unknowing (feat. Bobby Womack and Sinfonia ViVA)
16. Pirate Jet