Music Monday ~ 20: Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre) – Gotan Project

It has been a long time since I did a Music Monday post but I really do love sharing random songs here and there.  Followers of this blog will know that my primary music love is indie rock followed closely by all genres of alternative music.  I think therefore that you might be very, very surprised then to learn what the top ten songs on my iPod in terms of play count are because there are only two songs on the top ten that could even remotely be considered to be alternative or indie.  And so now I present the songs that make my friends shake their heads in despair, wondering where they went wrong in my musical education.

#10: Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre) by Gotan Project

At 45 plays, “Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre) is the tenth most popular song on my iPod.  That is absolutely no measure of how much I love this song though as I pretty much played it on repeat from April to October 2006 but that was in the bad old days before I got my iPod in May 2007.  “Gotan” is an mash up of the word “tango” and they release fantastically authentic tango albums with a very modern flavour.  To this day, I cannot listen to this song just once and usually spend a couple of hours listening to it over and over again.  Love it.

DVD Review: Invictus (2009)

Mid-nineties South Africa was both a charming and frightening place to be. There was the joy of having toppled the nationalist government of the National Party and formally moving past Apartheid once and for all but there was also fear. The African National Congress were not the only political party that had stood opposed to the National Party in the elections and there was fear that other, less moderate parties would mobilise to seek revenge for the years of oppression and inequality under Apartheid. There was also a concern that right-wing extremists might stage attacks or insurgencies and this was not unfounded either. The right-wing, neo-Nazi party Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging had staged an armed attack on the multiparty talks between the NP, ANC and other parties in December 1993 and they assured the public that they would violently oppose the new regime.

It was a time of confusion and uncertainty. People did not know what to expect and were frightened of reprisals or at least radical reparations. Yet in the aftermath of the democratic elections, the first in South Africa to feature universal franchise, the lone voice of Archbishop Desmond Tutu rose above the chaos and said that the people of South Africa must draw together as one rainbow nation. This was repeated by former President Nelson Mandela on his first month in office when he uttered the immortal words "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world".

It seemed inconceivable, impossible even that a man imprisoned for 27 years for treason against a brutal, racist regime could emerge and speak not of revenge, hatred and reprisals but of unity, tolerance and peace. Yet here was Nelson Mandela preaching exactly that and he began the process that would leave a mark on the life of every South African.

Invictus was directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as the captain of the South African rugby team, Francois Pienaar.  The film begins with two boys’ rugby games divided along racial lines.  It is the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison on 11 February 1990 and in the first five minutes of the film, we move swiftly through the events leading up to the elections and Mandela’s inauguration as president.  Actual news footage from the time is used and gives an authentic feel to the massive change that was sweeping across South Africa in that time. 

Invictus tells the story of Mandela’s first fourteen months in office and how he used the game of rugby to unite a divided country.  I would not say that this is strictly a historical or political story but neither is it just a film about rugby.  It the the true story of how the South African rugby team beat all odds to become the winners of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how rugby itself went from being a pariah, an Afrikaner sport to a game that the whole country supported.

Several creative liberties were taken in the making of the film and indeed, Mandela did not give Francois Pienaar the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley but rather a portion of a speech by Theodore Roosevelt.  On the whole though, the film is extremely authentic and the fashions, attitudes and accents of the time are all really well done.  They used a large South African supporting cast in the film and shot in several locations across South Africa.  Morgan Freeman was good as Nelson Mandela and he seemed to capture a lot of Mandela’s mannerisms.  He made a good effort at Mandela’s unusual accent too although his own American accent seemed to dominate.  Matt Damon was superb as Francois Pienaar and I could not fault him in his performance.  He played with conviction and passion and accurately portrayed Pienaar’s slightly reserved yet powerful persona. 

The rugby scenes in the film were extremely well done and several famous plays were depicted.  The fever pitch of the final on 25 June 1995 was conveyed brilliantly from the Boeing flying over the stadium with the good luck message to the Springboks (although it wasn't quite as illicit as the film made out) to the people hugging in the streets afterwards.  That kind of reaction is not unknown in South Africa and people once again left their cars and took to the streets in celebration when South African won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and in May 2004 when it was announced that South Africa has been voted host nation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Critics have questioned the accuracy of the film and whether one sports game could have made such a difference in a country divided for years. I believe that the film does go some length to showing that it wasn’t just the game of rugby or the ambition of Nelson Mandela.  It was a time of reconciliation and forgiveness and was in fact followed in 1996 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into human rights violations under Apartheid. 

 

Invictus is an incredibly inspiring film based on an equally inspiring man and true events.  Through great actors and his hallmark attention to detail, Clint Eastwood has brought a magical moment in history to our screens.  This is a touching film and certainly deserved the several best actor, best supporting actor and best director wins and nominations, most notably the Black Reel Award for Best Actor in 2010 for Morgan Freeman.  Francois Pienaar stated in an interview this week that he cried the whole way through the first screening of the film and I can certainly understand that.  The film is emotionally charged throughout and extremely powerful.

While the film is excellent, the extra features on the film are mildly disappointing.  They feature an Invictus music trailer and a six-minute featurette “Matt Damon Plays Rugby”.  The features on the Blu-ray release are far greater and given the superior audio and video quality of Blu-ray, it might be worth moving over to that format.

Deducting points only for Freeman’s slight difficulties with Mandela’s accent, I give the film four-and-a-half stars.

Article first published as DVD Review: Invictus on Blogcritics.
Images: Copyright © Warner Bros. Pictures

Music Review: Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs – Medicine County

Artist: Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs Album: Medicine County Label: Transdreamer Records Release date: 30 March 2010 Genre: Alternative Country / Traditional Country Rating:  1.5/5

The moment I saw that Holly Golightly had a new album out, I was interested in listening to it.  I first became acquainted with Holly Golightly's style and music when she collaborated with The White Stripes.  Something about her irreverent sense of humor and her country-influenced type of alternative rock appealed to me.  It seemed that this was all confirmed when I heard the first single from the Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs album Medicine County.

"Forget It" starts with a sweeping percussion and organ and introduces Holly's haunting, seductive vocals.  It immediately reminded me of the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds classic "Red Right Hand" and I looked forward to an album of dark, narrative alternative songs with a definite country and Western leaning.

Alternative music has enjoyed a love affair with country and Western music for years.  One just has to listen to Johnny Cash's renditions of the massive Nine Inch Nails hit "Hurt" and the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds track "Mercy Seat" to see how compatible the two genres are.   Mazzy Star, Tarnation, Ryan Adams and Aimee Mann are just some of the artists that have been successful in producing cross-genre music that is often primarily country music but appeals to a wide alternative base.

I mention this simply because I am not one of those people adverse to country and Western music just for the sake of it.  In Medicine County, Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs explore the very origins of country and Western music and delve into the numerous subgenres and styles including traditional country, bluegrass and folk. Holly's fascination with the genre is clear and I admire her for putting that passion to music and delivering an absolutely authentic sound.

Once "Forget It" finishes and the bluegrass sounds of "Two Left Feet" began, I found that I enjoyed less and less of the album. In fact, there were only four songs on the album that I didn't dislike. I could appreciate the effort and I knew that the title track "Medicine County" was a fine example of the honky tonk and "Blood on the Saddle" is a faithful rendition of the Tex Ritter traditional country classic but I just couldn't listen to them all the way through.

Apart from "Forget It", "Dearly Departed" is okay and the last two songs on the album "Don't Fail Me Now" and "Jack O'Diamonds" are quite good actually, if not a little repetitive.

I believe this album would appeal to country and Western lovers who have an alternative leaning and can appreciate Holly's sincere attempt to pay homage to a cross-section of country and Western genres. In term of production, song writing and musical performances, this is a fine album of high quality.  However, for music lovers with a primary affiliation to the alternative music genre, this album may prove to be inaccessible and a step too far in the country and Western direction.  Don’t take my word for it though, take a listen to the previews on Amazon and perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  I’d certainly recommend purchasing "Forget It" and "Don't Fail Me Now".

Considering that I could only listen to four songs of the twelve on this album, I give it 1.5 stars out of 5 and that is a generous rounding-up.

Photo credits: Alison Wonderland

Article first published as Music Review: Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs - Medicine County on Blogcritics.

Music Review: Jonathan Sakas - Albatross

Jonathan Sakas – Albatross Label: Jonathan Sakas Release date: 30 March 2010 Genre: Synthpop / Indie Rock Rating:  4.5/5

 

Jonathan Sakas has been described as “Talking Heads meets Lady Gaga”; he is not too sure what that means but he’ll take it as a compliment.  While many artists are turning to electronic, synth-driven sounds reminiscent of new wave and synthpop, not all of them experience the success of bands like The Killers or Franz Ferdinand.  Far too often they land up sounding dated and tired and I was keen to find out whether Jonathan Sakas would stand out as an electronic rock artist.

Albatross is Jonathan’s debut album and it is the follow up to the 2009 EP Death of the Iceman.  After taking a quick listen to the EP, it is immediately clear that Albatross has a far more polished and bolder sound.  This is quite an accomplishment really as not only did Jonathan write the music and lyrics on the album, he also played all of the instruments, did all of the electronic programming and produced the album too. 

Albatross begins with the pleasing “Striker” which is solid, upbeat pop number.  The song has lively electric guitars that are the trademark of indie rock and is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  “Driver” is more downbeat and it is the first taste of something new yet unmistakeably familiar.  It is a flawless song that puts me in mind of the sweeping soundscapes of mid-eighties synthpop.  For a limited period of time, “Driver” is available free to download from Jonathan’s website.

By the time the third song “Porridge” rolls around, you start to feel quite comfortable with the album.  This is another upbeat song that reminds me of Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and a-ha but not in a stale or outmoded way.  That feeling of comforts fades however as “Hindu” packs a bit of a surprise.  It is an edgy song that definitely steers the album away from the realm of popular music and into the alternative music arena.  Suddenly, there are parts of the album that are closer to Nine Inch Nails or bands like The Mission or Love and Rockets than bands from more popular genres.  “Hindu” is too dark and slow to be a hit but it is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album.  Jonathan’s strong vocals really begin to stand out on this track too and he sounds not unlike Dave Gahan.

Jonathan Sakas starts to channel Visage and Human League with “Fall”, the fifth song on the album.  “Fall” has sweeping, driving synthesisers and a great electronic sound.  My only complaint about this track is that it is too short as sometimes you just wish a song would go on for a little longer.  The next track “Oysters” is another firm favorite of mine with a dark and dramatic introduction on organ and emotional lyrics about the end of a relationship.  “Marie” is set to be one of the most popular songs on the album and was released on the Zia Records compilation You Heard Us Back When, Volume 4 which features some of the best local bands from Arizona and Navada.  It is a lively song but once again, I prefer the slower, more downbeat sounds of the next track “Lion”. 

The penultimate song “Grapes” confirms the success of the album as an outstanding example of electronic rock with a definite nod to influencing artists.  The final song “Stay” deserves special mention though.  It is a masterpiece of a song with deep and haunting beats and more than a healthy dose of anger and resentment.  It is definitely on a par with Trent Reznor’s most warped songs and has one of the boldest lines I’ve heard in years.  It kind of makes me want to ask the artist if he really said “I should have killed you when I had the chance”. 

Albatross is not in any way dated or average.  It is a powerful debut and an album that is sure to occupy a premium position in my playlist over the next year.  I would certainly be interested in hearing more from Jonathan Sakas and am pleased to hear that he is currently working on his follow up album.  You can find out more about Jonathan on his MySpace and Facebook pages.

This is an excellent debut and I give Albatross 4.5 stars.

Article first published as Music Review: Jonathan Sakas – Albatross on BlogCritics.org.  Jonathan sent me a copy of the CD to review and all opinions expressed in this review are genuinely my own.

Blu-ray review: True Blood - The Complete Second Season

Writing a review about HBO’s massive vampire series True Blood is an incredibly daunting task.  True Blood is based on Charlaine Harris’s The Southern Vampire Mysteries and there is huge fan investment in both the television series and books.  The show is larger than life and is an ostentatious display of sex, mayhem and drama; can a single review ever capture something as big as the Sookie Stackhouse phenomenon?  Having watched the visual feast that is the second season of True Blood on Blu-ray, I shall certainly try.

True Blood centres around a telepathic waitress called Sookie Stackhouse who falls in love with a vampire called Bill Compton.  With the invention of synthetic blood, vampires have been able to “come out of the coffin” as they no longer need to prey on humans for sustenance.  The series is set in Southern town of Bon Temps, Louisiana.  In the first season of True Blood, Sookie met Bill and soon fell for him once she realized that his thoughts were silent to her; his silence is a rare treat for her in a world filled by the cacophony of other people’s thoughts.   

The second season of True Blood focuses on two major plotlines and the series begins to depart quite dramatically from the books.  Although this season is loosely based on Charlaine Harris’s novel Living Dead In Dallas, there are many more characters and storylines than in the book.  The first major plot relates to Eric Northman, the vampire sheriff of Area 5 (which includes Bon Temps).  Eric requests that Sookie use her telepathic powers to try to locate his maker Godric who has gone missing and she leaves for Dallas with Bill and his progeny Jessica.

The second plot line revolves around the maenad Maryann who introduces more than a fair share of mayhem, lust and destruction to the small town of Bon Temps while Sookie and Bill are in Dallas.  Maenads were the female followers of Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, and they were known for their ecstatic, frenzied behaviour.  While posing as a social worker, Maryann takes Sookie’s best friend Tara under her wing and they later move into Sookie’s home while she is away.  Maryann frequently holds debaucherous orgies to which the town folk are invited and the entire town is overcome by lust and lunacy at these parties.

It is hard to believe that there were only twelve episodes in this season as so much happens and the tension and excitement literally reaches a fever pitch as the season hurtles towards its smashing finale.  I thoroughly enjoyed this season, even more so than the first season but some parts I loved more than others.

Jessica Hamby and Hoyt Fortenberry

Hoyt is played by Jim Parrack and thankfully he has a much bigger role in the television series than he does in the books.  This season he meets Jessica Hamby, a young vampire who is the progeny of Bill.  Jessica’s character is exclusive to the television series as Bill was forced to “make” a vampire at the end of the last season as punishment for killing a much older fellow vampire while he was defending Sookie.  I really enjoyed the relationship between Hoyt and Jessica and this was no doubt assisted by the lovely Deborah Ann Woll who plays Jessica.  I really hope we see more of these two characters in the next season but I doubt they will stay together long.

Maryann Forrester

The story of Maryann represents a huge departure from the storyline in Living Dead In Dallas but it was done really well in the series.  I imagine that the storyline in the books might have been insufficient to carry the whole season as the books are told from Sookie’s perspective and so this plotline was probably introduced to add some spice and to keep the characters of Bon Temps fresh in the viewers’ minds.  Nevertheless, Maryann’s plotline carried the irreverence that True Blood is renowned for as she drums the town up into a crazy frenzy and her energy possesses them all.  The resultant drunkenness and loss of inhibition was really done well, as was the acting and visualization and it added a menacing yet entertaining twist to the season.

Erik Northman and Pam

At first I couldn’t figure out what all the fuss about Eric and Pam was.  I still wouldn’t be able to explain it to you but these two are definitely amongst my favourite characters in the show.  Scenes with Eric in are infinitely more interesting than those involving Bill and I wish Sookie and Eric would just hurry up and get together.  Pam is a bouncer at Eric’s vampire club Fangtasia and she has the most awesome and morbid sense of dry, snarky humour.  Eric and Pam are played by the exquisite Alexander Skarsgård and Kristin Bauer and I do hope they get more screen time next season.

Jason Stackhouse

Sookie’s brother Jason might be the epitome of naiveté and fecklessness but Ryan Kwanten does a great job in this role and it was good to see more of him this season.  In yet another departure from the book, Jason joins the anti-vampire church Fellowship of the Sun and quickly moves up their ranks.  Sure, it’s kind of predictable what happens in the end but nicely done nonetheless.

Sam Merlotte

Sam is my favourite character in True Blood and I love that his role was also expanded this season.  I loved his relationship with Daphne and as always, it is great too see Sam Trammell in so little clothing.  Even though things don’t really end up so well for Sam this season, it was really touching to see him cry in the last episode.

Lafayette Reynolds

Lafayette is another one of my favourite characters and I was as pleased as punch to see that he had a role in this season.  I love everything about him from his sense of fashion to his dry sense of humour.  What I didn't really get was the necessity of having him incarcerated in a dungeon at the beginning of the season.  This storyline may have been necessary to introduce the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne LeClerq, later in the season and it may also have demonstrated a certain facet of Eric’s personality.  In the end though, so much happens in this season and it seemed to all be over too quickly anyway that any significance or moral lesson was kind of lost during the rest of the season.  Nevertheless, Lafayette is played to perfection by Nelsan Ellis and he did a good job this season of capturing Lafayette’s post-traumatic state while still maintaining his camp style.

Godric

Godric was lovely and it is easy to see why so many fans of the series liked him so much.  Played by 20-year-old Dane Allan Hyde, Godric only appears in 4 episodes of the series and yet his storyline seems so much bigger.  Allan Hyde has an incredible screen presence and Godric is a mysterious and enigmatic character with his boyish looks and tattoos dating back to Roman times.  While I enjoyed every second that Godric was on screen, something about his portrayal in the series didn’t quite work for me.  Godric is portrayed as an enigmatic, enlightened individual and even if this hadn’t represented such a massive departure from his character in the book, it still wouldn’t have sat right with me.  Godric was meant to be so base and evil that he made Eric look like a cherub but in the absence of this evil nature, it was never properly explained in the series why he had aligned himself with the Fellowship of the Sun and why he felt the need to repent. 

There is also some small sense where I wonder why they included him at all.  By introducing Jason to the Fellowship of the Sun, they didn’t really need him there at all in the end.  I have to stress that I am grateful that they did include him and his final scenes (which I shall not spoil) were really fabulous but his story as a whole wasn’t perfect.  In a similar way to Lafayette’s dungeon storyline, it seems that a pretty strong storyline was introduced but that they didn’t run with it all the way to the end.  It felt incomplete in some way and Hyde’s fantastic performance was left hanging.  Or perhaps I am simply disgruntled that we only saw Allan Hyde for four episodes?

The second season of True Blood is a visually stunning production replete with a great-looking cast, striking costumes and excellent cinematography and the show absolutely shines on the Blu-ray format. Presented in HD 1080p video, the visual quality of this Blu-ray is outstanding. In fact, this is the best example of the power of Blu-ray technology that I have seen so far and not only was the video sharp and crystal clear but colours were especially vivid too. This is the kind of experience which makes it almost impossible to return to standard definition television or DVD. Combined with the impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, the experience is one of immersion in the world of True Blood. There were times when I could almost feel the stifling humidity of sub-tropical Bon Temps and hear the cicadas and the complete audio-visual package certainly adds to this.

The other stand out benefit of Blu-ray technology is all of the exciting extras that they manage to jam onto the discs. Both the Blu-ray and DVD release features audio commentary on six of the episodes; the thirty minute mockumentary The Vampire Report and four Fellowship of the Sun mini-episodes featuring Steve and Sarah Newlin.  The Blu-ray release takes it up a notch though with an incredible interactive experience.  The Blu-ray includes a series index, episode previews and episode recaps which is becoming pretty standard on Blu-ray releases but is pretty cool nonetheless. 

What really impressed me was the enhanced viewing with picture-in-picture character perspectives from Hoyt Fortenberry, Pam, Maryann’s servant Karl and Fellowship of the Sun pastor Steve Newlin.  Fans of Pam will especially love this feature as she speaks “candidly” and sarcastic, snarky comments are brilliant.  The Blu-ray also features a picture-in-picture flash back and flash forward facility as well as a pro- and anti-vampire vampire messaging feature that you could enable.  My favourite Blu-ray feature was the “Hints and FYIs” feature which told you little snippets about the characters and scenes and told you what to look out for.  I wouldn’t recommend that you enable it during your first viewing but it is a must for fans to get the maximum experience out of the season.

All told, True Blood season 2 is a fantastic experience and if there was ever a time to move over to the power of Blu-ray then this is it.  The Blu-ray and DVD are due to be released in the UK on May 17, 2010 and in the US on May 25, 2010.  True Blood season three premieres on HBO on June 13, 2010.  I can’t wait!

All images © HBO

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: True Blood - The Complete Second Season on Blogcritics.  I was given a preview copy of the season to review and I think it goes without saying that the opinions expressed herein are my own.

Music Review: Keane – Night Train

Keane – Night Train Label: Island Release date: 10 May 2010 Genre: Indie Rock Rating:  2.5/5

After a short break of just two years, British indie rock outfit Keane return with an eight-track EP Night Train.  Hailing from East Sussex, Keane are Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley and Richard Hughes.  The darlings of the British indie music scene, Keane have experienced phenomenal success both in the UK and worldwide with their first three albums selling over ten million copies.  While each album has seen stylistic shifts, Keane have become known for Tom Chaplin’s trademark voice and Tim Rice-Oxley’s sweeping melodies.  With Night Train, Keane hope to break through the indie rock label and try out new sounds and styles.  While most indie rock bands fizzle out after their debut, can Keane repeat the magic that has captivated their fans since their 2004 debut Hopes and Fears?



The album opens with the musique concrète introduction “House Lights”.  Keane have often leaned towards uplifting and upbeat songs in the past but “House Lights” gives an expectation that the album will be perhaps darker and more complex.  This is somewhat confirmed with “Back in Time” with its dramatic synthesiser melodies and anthemic vocals.  The band collaborate with Somali/Canadian rapper K’Naan on the next track “Stop for a Minute”.  This is the first single from the album and will no doubt garner a lot of radio play but I thought it was pretty disappointing.  It is definitely a Keane song with its uplifting and positive sound and Tom’s unmistakable voice but we’d been promised something different with the first two tracks.  Furthermore, although acts like Gorillaz and Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip seem to have succeeded in bridging the gap between the indie rock and hip hop genres, I don’t think the rap works in this track. 



Things definitely pick up again with “Clear Skies” though.  The track has an urgent feel to it with quite a funky beat and it is one of those songs you want to hear again as soon as it is finished.  “Ishin Denshin (You've Got To Help Yourself)” is the second collaboration on the album and features Japanese baile funk MC Tigarah.  The song has a definite Japanese sound to it and seems to work a bit better than the first collaboration before becoming but is a bit silly and repetitive in the end.

“Your Love” features a rare lead vocal from Tim Rice-Oxley.  This song reminds of their first hit “Somewhere Only We Know”.  The next track “Looking Back” is the second collaboration with K’Naan on the album.  It starts off interestingly enough with 1960s-style brass sound and it is quite a nice song but once again, as much as I like hip hop, I just don’t think the rap works in this song.  The EP closes with “Your Shadow” which is a touching finale to this short album.  This is a good, solid song but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had heard it somewhere before.



The band have admitted that they didn’t put too much effort into this EP and it was recorded while they were touring.  Rice-Oxley stated that “All of these songs were recorded with a spirit of ‘Why Not?’.  We didn't labour over making this record, or worry about it, we just enjoyed experimenting with things”.  It is a pity because I think this shows in the EP and I have to wonder why they didn’t just hold out for a full studio album with better material.  Some of the songs just don’t work and others sound like a Keane jam session.  Keane have long been one of my favorite bands and I will keep listening to the better songs on the EP but perhaps it is time for them to return with an edgier, more mature sound. 

Being that I liked four of the eight tracks, I give the album two and a half stars.



Article first published as Music Review: Keane - Night Train on Blogcritics.org.  I was provided with a copy of the CD to review and all opinions in the review are my own

Music Review: Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Damon Albarn could have done two things when his reign as the King of Indie Music ended with Blur dissolving amidst creative differences and Graham Coxon’s alcoholism.  He could have matured and followed in the footsteps of great artists such as David Bowie, bringing out clever and well received albums for the next twenty years or so.  Or he could have become the Peter Pan of the popular music realm and dreamt up a virtual band that runs around the world kidnapping journalists and selling arms to third world dictators in order to raise money to make albums.  He chose to do the latter.

Gorillaz is a band made up of four animated characters drawn by Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett.  There is Murdoc Niccals on bass guitar, Noodle on guitar and vocals, Russel Hobbs on drums and percussion and my personal favourite, 2D on lead vocals and keyboards.  They are officially the most successful virtual band ever (which is not hard considering they are competing with Crazy Frog) and have sold over 15 million copies of their first two albums Gorillaz (2001) and Demon Days (2005).  They are most famous for the genre-defying hits such as “Clint Eastwood”, “19-2000”, “Dirty Harry”, “Feel Good Inc” and “Dare” and they return in 2010 with their third studio album, Plastic Beach.  Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett are pretty much the only constants in the Gorillaz line up but the cast of collaborating artists is impressive once again and includes great names such as Mos Def and Bobby Womack. 

 

The album begins with the instrumental “Orchestral Intro” and you hear the sounds of waves and seagulls as you head out to sea.  You’re met on the Plastic Beach by none other than Snoop Dogg as he tells you about how pollution in the ocean has created the island in “Welcome to the Plastic Beach”.  This is a laid back song with a classy vibe.    Grime rappers Bashy and Kano, and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music are up next as the tempo picks up for “White Flag” and Albarn’s increasing interest in African and Arabic music shows through.  This is the first of my favourite songs on the album, the type that you’re inclined to play over and again on repeat.  Hip-hop is not my genre of choice but the beats in all of the songs so far are enough to enable this album to cross genres and appeal to a wide audience.

Themes of pollution and ecology continue with “Rhinestone Eyes” which is a return to that classic lazy Gorillaz sound that we first heard in “Clint Eastwood”.  This song has a wicked bass line and backing vocals that come up to the chorus and is definitely the best song on the album.  The legendary Bobby Womack and Mos Def make their entrance next with “Stylo” which is the first single from the album.  This laid back and stylish song has the most incredible video featuring Bruce Willis.  We unfortunately can’t embed the whole video but check out the trailer below.

 

“Superfast Jellyfish” is the next single from the album and is due out for release on 9 May 2010.  Featuring Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and De La Soul, it starts off with a wonderfully retro sample advertising microwave breakfast and has a funky, cheeky beat.  It is a silly song and certainly a load of fun.  “Empire Ants” starts off really slowly with a piano background and beach vibes as Damon Albarn (as 2D) describes the banality of every day life.  The song then explodes into an electronic carnival of sound as Little Dragon enter to state how our dreams of a better life simply work the machine.  This is a brilliant song and is another one to play on repeat.  “Glitter Freeze” features The Fall’s Mark E. Smith and it has a driving, chaotic beat.  Like “Empire Ants” before, it moves the album closer to the dance and electronica genre and it is a strong, energetic song.

“Some Kind of Nature” features the superstar Lou Reed.  This song is a break from the somewhat lunatic beats of the previous two songs but there is still something about it as Lou’s vocals are distorted.  The song is about the distortion of nature and how people become phony and nothing lands up in the form that it originally was.  “On Melancholy Hill” is intended to be the third single on the album which is strange as I think it is one of the weaker songs on the album.  It is definitely poppy and may appeal to the masses but I think it doesn’t really do much.  There is a post-apocalyptic feel that comes through in the album and this is increased by the cartoon landscape of the Plastic Beach and the feeling of being stuck in a video game.  With its mention of ‘the light of plasma screens’ and space and broken love, “Broken” continues this theme with its slow, eerie sound.

“Sweepstakes” picks up the tempo again and features Mos Def on his second appearance on the album and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.  With an insistent almost menacing beat the song is about how everyone is a winner when in reality, nobody is winning at all.  This song is an absolute winner!  Once again, it is a definite rap song but it is funky enough to appeal to a wider audience.  Damon Albarn denied that this album was a green album but the title track “Plastic Beach” definitely refers to the floating landfills in the oceans when it speaks of ‘It's a Casio on a plastic beach, It's a Styrofoam deep sea landfill’.  This is a trippy song that leads into the equally trippy “To Binge” featuring Little Dragon again.  This song features perhaps the best line on the album ‘That shattered feeling, well, the cause of it's a lesson learned’.

"Cloud of Knowing” features the last collaboration on the album with Bobby Womack and sinfonia ViVA.  This is a really downbeat song but Bobby Womack’s vocals make it quite ovely.  He sings of himself as if he is up in the sky looking down and wondering when he will be close to his love again.  The album ends with the cheeky and upbeat “Pirate Jet”.  This is an optimistic song yet speaks of leaving the taps running for a hundred years.  It pretty much sums up the whole album and then all too soon, it ends.

Plastic Beach is a fantastic album and I sincerely hope that the rumours about this being Gorillaz’ last are false.  It is a crazy and inventive album that should appeal to younger audiences without being condescending but certainly appeals to the child in me.  Simply put, it is a load of fun and will certainly occupy a valued spot in my iPod over the year to come.  You can visit the Gorillaz website and play their new online game Escape To Plastic Beach for more mind bending fun.

 

For being an absolute gem of an album, I give Plastic Beach 4.5 stars

All artwork by Jamie Hewlett © EMI Music Ltd / Jamie Hewlett

This review first appeared on Blogcritics.org.  I was given a copy of the album to review and all opinions here are absolutely my own.