Straight up the only song I kind of liked on this album was the “New Gold” one 😂. Definitely didn’t sound like the gorillaz tho so I’m with him on that
Welcome to the world of streaming promotions... It seems pretty hard to work an album over a year like it was pre streaming. More and more all the promotions leads up to the album, because once the album is released, that is the hugest an album will chart. I see more remixes being released as singles post album release, because it no longer makes sense to release a song that is already out there. It's a total different mentality of promotions than it was even ten years ago when they were still pushing physical media as the mainstay.
Ive accepted we wont have another Demon Days or Plastic Beach. Song Machine was the best theyve released in years but at this point Im just happy Damon Albarn has any ideas he still wants to put out
Song Machine is so good that I'm not even mad that I rate Cracker Island a 5/6. It still has some great tunes like Silent Running. Tormenta with Bad Bunny is pretty nice and better than what I expected, considering I don't even like Bunny's music. But seriously, Song Machine is SO GOOOOD.
Like, as okay as the album is, the fact that he kicked the whole Cracker Island project off with fucking Thundercat is incredible. Damon has somehow always stayed connected with the modern music scene
I think this is a very interesting comment, because I’m really glad that Damon is able to pull off these tricks and appeal to the younger generations so easily. But at the same time, it’s the older generations that he is seemingly slipping away from. I can’t count how many comments I see all over social media basically saying “I wish they went back to the early Gorillaz sound one day” and I can’t agree more. But, me being one of the four people who really enjoyed “Humanz” just as much as I enjoyed “Demon Days,” I really enjoy the fact that Damon is just doing what he wants to do instead of holding onto his 15+ year old hits.
I agree! I thinks the overall style of cracker island was not flawed at all. Anthony's con points were still true but I don't think he really explored the really good parts of the album either. Also he needs to listen to tired influencer more. I used to hate it, now it's one of my favorites on the album
because damon is not scared of new sounds and genres . he's not scared of making new friends in music world. he's creativ eand open minded. i remind you all that he was in BLUR and while being in blur he made almost entire self titled gorillaz album.
It would’ve made the track list so much better if they had incorporated the deluxe songs onto the main album giving it some more variety. It would work especially well if you removed a weaker song or two to fit them in too imo.
There is only 1 bonus track with Del. Then there's one with De La Soul (the final Gorillaz x De La Soul collab, as Trugoy The Dove died on 12 February, 2023) and one with this Brazilian rapper named MC Bin Laden.
Yeah the song sucks and it’s kinda fucked up that Del’s big return is on some dinky little bonus track but it somehow captures that classic Gorillaz sound so well it doesn’t seem like it’s been two decades at all. That funky homosapien must simply hop on a full beautiful track again soon. Please…
This review must have been hard for Anthony. He obviously is a huge fan of Damon and the Gorillaz, but you could tell from the singles that he was not feeling this one for the most part. Thanks for keeping it real, Anthony! (Even though I loved the album myself!l
"most songs are bland and the collaborator could be removed, I'm being taken to a tropical island by gunpoint, etc" Then gives it a six? IDK there might be a conflict with the interview with Murdoc. He must've come to some sort of agreement about the review?
@BaroTheMadman I wouldn't go that far. The 6 in in alignment with his opinions. Match the colorfully expressed negatives with the admittedly impeccable production and a new addition to all time fav Gorillas singles with Skinny Ape and kudos for the album being successful in theme.
Sad Melon didn't even mention the most potential hit of this album, Controllah with the brazillian MC, dude that song bangs hard, and with the support of the country this song might as well help a lot with the sales of the album! Every brazillian person I know is completely fascinated by this project
if they didn't drop 5 singles before the album i think he would've enjoyed way more, even up to a 8. It's psychological. bad marketing. Even putting a banger like controllah out of the album is a mistake in my opinion
mano quem que pediu pra gorillaz fz uma musica com o mc bin laden maluco, de tanto rapper br o flow dele foi bom, eu me surpreendi com a qualidade, mas visto que essa é a primeira vez que muito fã de goriĺlaz vai ter contato com rap brasileiro atraves do mc bin laden, eu nem sei oq dizer vao curtir ne, gringo odeia ver pais de 3o mundo fznd musica boa oq eles querem é ver os macaquinho fofinho da praia dançando sem camisa e fznd "barulhinhos exoticos" pra eles se sentirem ecleticos e o mc bin laden é a pequena sereia do tietê pro ego dos gringo, o nome dele é engraçadinho ain hihihi olha so os untermensch usando nome de terrorista ve se o damon faria cracker island com o groovador (ou o vitti, ou insira lista dos 50 baixistas brasileiros que destruiriam o thundercat so de segurar o baixo) e controllah com o lil tay ou com o boyinaband, quando é gringo ele so pega o top dos pop, fatoumata diawara maluco, miho hatori, del the funken homosapien, NINGUEM MAIS QUE MF DOOM mas quando vem pro brasil, o que que a gente tem pra oferecer, o carinha do bomba patch 2014
So this album started out as Song Machine Season 2, but after the first 3 songs were done Damon realized they carried a similar sound and tone so he figured they'd work better as a typical studio album.
@@Yerrrrrrrrrr It originally was supposed to be. Tormenta and New Gold were supposed to be the first two singles for Song Machine Season 2 before it got shelved.
Criminal that Oil isn’t in best tracks, but yeah a lot of the album feels a little bland and plays too safe, ironically the bonus tracks were more fun and felt like old school Gorillaz, even if they were also kinda half baked
I agree with this take. I don’t hate the album, I just found myself going back to Song Machine and finding much more inspiration behind each number. I think I’d have liked this album more if it stuck to the cult angle harder and made more… sense as a project. 6/10 is perfectly acceptable from Damon, I just hope Song Machine Volume 2 is in the works too.
@@hoodiepen He said it in an interview a couple of days ago. Something about “I don’t even understand why they called it Season One in the first place.”
He absolutely ignored Controllah, the HARDEST song and the funniest contrast between rought -life lyrics and Damon singing light silly verses in the middle. Its a banger ignore if you DARE.
Really think they should’ve added the bonus cuts to the main track list. Controllah, Crocodillaz, and Captain Chicken would’ve made the whole thing pop a bit more imo
One thing I can appreciate is that even as someone who loves this album (me) I can see this score and still understand how he got to that opinion. That’s an underrated aspect of music reviewing
Yep, I think that's what keeps me coming back for Anthony's reviews even tho I find myself disagreeing with his takes a significant amount of the time (this time included). He always states his case well and is critical in a way that's clear and engaging to watch.
That's an underrated aspect of opinions in general. Even when people may disagree on something, you can generally still find value in others' perspectives.
It’s honestly growing on me. Think its my favorite since plastic beach. Wish there was a little more experimentation and maybe 2 more songs longer on the standard edition. But I get some good vibes from this thing. Reminds me of plastic beach at times, I get slow country vibes from tired influencer. Idk, I’m liking it even though I’ve heard half the album for seems like forever.
Yeah, I really vibed with a couple songs from the outset and sometimes got lost in the album and it’s grown on me so much, I love it now. My favourite in a long time and really resonates with me.
I agree. Song Machine was their return-to-form album and one of their best to ever be released since Demon Days and Plastic Beach. Cracker Island, even if there are 2-3 bops however, feels like just one of their albums.
Honestly, I kind of feel the same way, it seems like a much shorter album. There wasn’t really a lot of immersion like there is on something like plastic beaches. I think that’s what gorillas is missing, the immersion story of it all
I've never disliked a Gorillaz album, and this one's no different. Always an enjoyable listen, even if they're not all 10/10s. That being said, don't think Damon will ever surpass the first three albums.
Well, he did with Song Machine, easily one of my fav gorillaz albums, but i get what youre saying, however im still happy with Damon trying new sounds and still experimenting in every single album he releases. I believe there is at least 3-5 amazing songs in each album he makes.
Song Machine has grown on me very quickly. Demon Days and Plastic Beach are pretty untouchable, but hot damn if that album doesn’t have some bangers. I just love the approach of essentially releasing a bunch of singles instead of making a cohesive album. Works really nicely with the way Gorillaz likes to genre hop and collab with all kinds of artists. Doesn’t transport you to another world in the way Plastic Beach does, but it’s just an absolute onslaught of great tracks
@@cactusloser I felt like Song Machine was at its most transportive when it was releasing singles. They would package each track with cute little intros and outros featuring the band making banter, usually less than a minute long, never overstayed its welcome. Not to mention the sheer amount of low-budget animated episodes and COVID-Compliant "virtual concert" really being a treat for those that like the art. Song Machine struck right to the heart of it.
@@gabsnandes7818 Apparently Jamie and Damon said in a recent public event that fans shouldn't expect a Song Machine S2. And that kinda sucks, SM has only grown on me over time. I would place it right below Demon Days and Plastic Beach and not too far from them either.
I'm noticing a pattern with Gorillaz, where in-between the more ambitious projects (Humanz, Song Machine), they'll release more low-key projects like The Now Now and this album. And these more low-ley projects always get labled as "mid" or "bland." But I disagree, I don't think every Gorillaz album needs to be cutting edge or punchy or whatever. I think they also excel with these "vibe" albums.
I get the vibe that these "interlude" albuns work more as a atmospheric pack that you go through at once and every song Works better as a whole than a bunch of singles
While I’d give the album closer to a 7/10, I love the fact that melon showed some appreciation for the piano version of Silent Running, it’s phenomenal! Also Skinny Ape being in the favourites is based.
I can't fathom how colorful, quirky, energetic and animated features like Del The Funky Homosapien and MC Bin Laden were reduced to bonus tracks in favor of utterly forgettable tunes like Tired Influencer and Tarantula. It's weird to hear a Gorillaz album that has hardly any rap in it.
I don't think there's any song on the album that I'd call bad, but the album feels underwhelming as a whole. The production in particular is so uncharacteristically unadventurous, I still couldn't hum Oil if you asked me to and I've listened to it ten times by now. I do wish the bonus tracks had been worked into the album, I really think it would have flowed much better and offered more of a Gorillaz feel. Captain Chicken is hilarious and Controllah is among the best songs they've made in a long time. And while yeah, New Gold is kinda just a Tame Impala song, those overlapping vocals on the back half send me straight to heaven every time, so groovy.
I love this record and the chill and melancholic vibes it has. The way Damon uses his 2D voice really gives me the feelings of when I just discovered Gorillaz with the self titled first record. The deluxe tracks are fantastic and actually most of the songs i really really like. Silent running is so good.
I like all the people talking about the downfall of gorillaz acting as if Song Machine didn’t exist . At this point I believe Damon is capable to release bangers but he just does what he wants .
@@hauntydoll id say it’s quite the opposite, from the online reception it got from fans and critics I’d say it’s closer to perfect than far from perfect
@@mexicanduckxii9168 But, commercially, Song Machine underperformed and this new album looks like its going to become the #2 album just righter after Demon Days (in terms of current numbers, don't get me we wrong, pre-digital era numbers is another story). The Bad Bunny song is going through the roof because its Bad Bunny, New Gold looks like its getting to a hundred million streams on Spotify soon as well, the other songs all also launched very well and their top 10 is stuffed with new material since a year - something Song Machine never achieved for so long.
@@madness9651 yeah I get what you mean , but comparing an album in a comercial way it’s almost always a waste of time. You can’t just say Song Machine didn’t do well commercially and say it’s a bad album , or have it the other way around and say that an album that sold well is a great album . Also it’s pretty obvious that this album is more commercially focused , bad bunny and Tame impala in songs already are gonna sell a lot , and give a lot of streams regardless of the quality .
Honestly my least favourite song by Gorillaz, it just sounds so silly and awkward. I can't help but imagine the Gorillaz cast all standing in a circle around a little baby and singing "Oooh, the baby queen!".
Personally think this is the cleanest sounding record production-wise I’ve heard in a while. Just listened on some studio monitors for the first time and it’s so smooth. Booming drums, vibrant synths, lush vocals. It all just fits together so nicely. I do agree, though, that some of the tracks could’ve used a bit more in terms of songwriting. I still do really like oil and baby queen is good, but they both felt like something was missing in both. Both needed some sort of change partway through the song to be more dynamic and maybe more instrumental variety throughout. Solid 8/8.5 for me.
I feel like this is the general life cycle of Gorillaz projects. They do a giant super ambitious one, and then a small kinda vibey one. Plastic beach to The Fall. Humanz to Now Now. Song Machine to Cracker Island. And on and on it goes
@@rileyscherer129 you just made me realize that the bloaded nightmare of humanz is almost fixed when you listen to the now now, so according to the bands lore murdoc was ruining gorillaz
@Riley Scherer That's actually a good observation. I wouldn't even call the smaller vibe albums all that bad. I think the biggest crime The Fall and some parts of Cracker Island commit are just being fine and forgettable.
I did enjoy this album but after revisiting song machine, I feel like Gorillaz are a lot more better when Damon's constantly bouncing ideas and styles off each other rather than limiting them to a single theme
I just want big ass effort put on Gorillaz's lore again like phase 1, 2 and 3. They could use social media as a great tool to achieve this. But since Humanz, Gorillaz lore has been very "meh"
Did you even follow the new lore? If you didn't you can have Murdoc recite it all via RUclips shorts just here. The lore this phase was great and their immersion is better than ever before. The Murdoc voice actor is clearly having the time of his life. There's also a 2D podcast.
Not an unfair review, but still drastically underrating "Silent Running" IMO. Straight-up beautiful song that seems pretty simple at first glance, but there's so much going on beneath the surface, with the change in the number of measures in the chorus vs the verse, and the part where you expect the second chorus to hit but it does something totally different instead. Lots of subtle tricks that reinforce the melancholy of the lyrics and melody.
These are my thoughts exactly!! The album isn’t bad, but I don’t see myself going back to it in the future. As a person who loves the now now, this wasn’t even remotely close to the feeling and interest that album has. Idk, it feels very middle of the road (pun intended), it doesn’t lean enough into experimental storytelling or experimental music either. It’s just very meh. The lore is also very…. Not great? They’re trying to make it soo amazing and complex and it ultimately comes off as just: meh. Also, I love how Anthony gave his honest opinion despite having interviewed Murdoc and having connections to Damon. Idk, I just appreciate his honesty and feel like his opinions hit the nail in the head. Hope that song machine season 2 comes out soon!
This. Ive seen a lot of people putting Cracker Island on "the same tier of The Now Now" , but even with both albuns being similar, The Now Now has so much... *Soul* , a soul that crack land lack
@@murilopereira7186 yes exactly!! The now now has so many hard hitting songs and chill songs, it's an amazing and cohesive experience! This... i just don't know
Plastic Beach and it's promotional material made the album feel like an experience. Cracker Island feels like an underwhelming vacation to LA It's still fun, and has It's moments, but I'm still being accosted by a guy in a Spirit Halloween Spiderman suit asking me for $20
I don't get how many people are saying that this is Gorillaz downfall or that they're past their prime or whatever. We just got Song Machine, arguably their second best album, at the very least their 3rd best, and it was followed up with the Meanwhile EP which was 3 bangers. They shot for a dreamy aesthetic on this album and it seems like a lot of people just thought it was "Alright" Some of their best songs are on this record, especially the deluxe tracks, and there will be better albums down the line. Idk why this album, which is by all metrics fine (and not even close to their worst) is spelling such doom and gloom for people. Idk I'd give it like a 7/10 personally but I also loved Oil and New Gold so there's that
@@jasonlord9713 See, to me, saying Song Machine isn't top 5 feels wild. The Lost Chord, Strange Timez, Pac Man, Desole'... like bro.. Go listen to Severed Head and come on back.
@@sebastiangarda191 Alr I was fucking around with saying it’s not top 5 ngl lmfao but it’s not touching the first 3 albums My ranking is 1. Plastic beach 2. Demon days 3. S/t 4. Now now 5. I would say g sides but that’s technically not an album so I would go either humanz or SM
Beck and Damon are doing a Walker Brothers thing and it's awesome. Look it up if you don't know what I mean. As for Stevie, she chose to do those harmonies in that way and I think her contribution is obvious. Was Damon supposed to force her to do something else? Y'all have such strong opinions and zero desire to explore creative choices that you don't immediately understand.
@@leerylifeform Yeah, I agree. I think Beck and Stevie just did their own thing and added what they felt needed to be in their respected tracks. This is also the second review to call it either flavourless or soulless, which is bollocks. You can have a bland flavoured album, but calling an album flavourless makes zero sense, every track/album has a flavour even if you don't like it. Possession Island might be my favourite track off the album and is such a great closing track, it's got the signature melancholy tone, but there's a glimmer of hope in there too.
You should also review The Waeve, new band formed by Graham Coxon (Albarn´s bandmate from Blur) and his partner Rose Elinor Dougall. Their self-titled album is epic.
its obvious Anthony is a very lyric focused music consumer. From a musical standpoint this album is extremely harmonically clean, basseous and groovy which is something I love.
i’m more excited about the artwork/visuals for this era than the album itself if i’m being honest. that being said, “Cracker Island” and “Skinny Ape” are both standouts imo!
Honestly some of these songs are some of the best I've heard from Gorillaz. My favorites in this album by far are Possession Island, Tormenta, and Silent Running
Tired influencer is one of my favorite tracks by rillaz ever, Damon crushes it and the melody and hook are really pretty. It’s a good song lyrically and musically
If song machine was a concept album with more of a cohesive identity, even just a pic of a location on the album art and maybe the band is on the moon or something lol, it would be up there with DD and Plastic Beach.
I loved this album. It's not perfect but still some bangers on this album and the world building is a nice payoff for life long fans of this digital band. They have become a visual medium as much as a sound media imo
if they didn't drop 5 singles before the album i think he would've enjoyed way more, even up to a 8. It's psychological. bad marketing. Even putting a banger like controllah out of the album is a mistake in my opinion
Damon's singing has gotten so mopey. I remember reading how, on the debut, Dan the Automator told him to sing with more confidence, and I think it really worked. Sure, tracks like Slow Country still had his more gentle inflection, but it's been over a decade since the last 5/4 or M1A1. He's not really playing with his voice the way he used to. Even on Demon Days he was more bold in his performance, I think. Ultimately, it's a taste thing. I'd like to hear Damon try to be a bit louder and more present. For me it's getting to the point that pretty much every guest vocalist on recent Gorillaz material outshines Damon completely.
He cannot sing like on the self-titled anymore because his voice deepened alot. Just listen to 13 and Nearer the Mountain More Pure the Stream Flows to take off the 2D filter and get a contemporary experience of what I mean. Then listen to Leisure and tell me the guy isn't incredible with coping of losing his original voice that made him famous. :)
I guess you haven't heard Damon's other music then? He's always had a mopey side, it's kind of a British thing with the mostly chilly, overcast weather and slowly degrading quality of life, but there's a sobering realness to it and makes you feel more alive. He's the king of melancholy, even in his Blur days, you've got Clover over Dover, Out of Time and Battery in Your Leg, amongst others. As for his voice, he's 54 and your voice doesn't get better with age, it just keeps slipping.
What. Oil is my favorite track so far. I liked this album right off the bat, which while knowing myself, that means I might grow tired of it earlier. The past albums had to grow on me and became more cemented. Their first album was an immediate hit though because I was just a kid and Damon was just fucking around, so that's a match
the main issue would have been fixed if they just didn't have a deluxe, and added the 3 extra songs into the base album. only like 6-7 minutes extra, and all three songs are rap, so mixing them in would have done so much to break up the monotony.
i think the biggest killing blow to the tempo and concept of the album, for me, is the fact that the singles released before the album had a lot of funkiness, lot of hard hitting instrumentals. even with new gold, where the features arent too great, all of the features on the pre-released tracks are still far more present and engaging, to me, than the features that showed up with the rest of the non-deluxe album, and as mentioned earlier, a lot of the funky, head bobbing instrumentals got taken away too for some very, very bland instrumentation.
Gorillaz, at this point, just seems to be spinning its wheels. Mind you this was the band that got Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music on the same album
@@markercrayon457 IN ME OPINION, IT IS CERTAINLY GOOD, BUT MUCH LESS INVOLVED AND FLESHED OUT THAN PAST ALBARN MUSIC. IT BE HAVING SOME GREAT TUNES, BUT SOME THAT, ME MUST SAY, ARE AMONG DAMONS ALL-TIME WORST. THATS JUST ME THOUGH!
understandable score for this one BUT I found it to be the perfect night drive vibe, was listening to it late while driving home with my family and we were all enjoying it
I was worried that you’d be pushed to give this album a much more positive review, due to the interview with one of the characters, etc. I’ve been a Gorillaz fan for 10+ years, and this album is one of the worst I’ve ever heard. I’m happy you stood true to yourself and your opinion for this one. Again, this is my personal opinion, no shame in liking it, but I honestly think that at this point, nobody involved in the creative team for Gorillaz has any interest in the project anymore. Gorillaz should be laid to rest.
I think this album is what happens when someone tries to force the idea in their head to happen instead of just letting them happen. Maybe more time could've helped sharpened some of the rougher parts🤷🏻♀️
yeah I agree, because the core idea of the album is great, the title track itself might be one of my favorite Gorillaz song in general and a lot of the ideas here had potential, but must of it feels rushed
Albums have gotten much shorter in recent years because of the shift from CDs with an 80 minute time limit back to LPs with a 40 minute limit. As a general rule, I like that better - stressing quality over quantity. With bands like Gorillaz, Beastie Boys, The Voidz and Ween - with a very wide range of styles - I think the longer format often works better and allows for weird tracks that wouldn't make the album otherwise. As much as I like Cracker Island - my favorite since Plastic Beach - I wish it was weirder.
Standout tracks for me: Silent Running, Cracker Island, Tarantula, Oil Cool concept, but some of the songs on the back half seemed a little undercooked. Still liked it for the most part though.
I liked some of Gorillaz' earlier works, so I decided to take a chance and pre-order this album on vinyl based on the singles they put out (LOVED the title track, Skinny Ape, and New Gold). So I thought "hmm... love these singles! So the rest of the album MUST be a similar vibe!". I def feel a bit let down... The rest of the songs weren't doing it for me. I'll still keep listening and see if it grows on me, but overall I was a bit disappointed on this album.
I’m not kidding when I say this is my favorite Gorillaz album of all time. Not a single song that I don’t love. Kinda surprised he didn’t review the 3 deluxe songs
I'd give it a high 7 myself. Agree with a lot of your points, but could not disagree more about Oil and Possession Island. Those are 2 of the best tracks on the album specifically because of the surprisingly subtle features and I want more Gorillaz in that style.
I liked this album quite a bit. Sounding safe is not a crime, they've been there before and the results are some nice, easy on the ears tracks. I'm sure Damon can and will deliver more whacky experimental Gorillaz stuff in the future, but this is still good.
This album was originally going to be Song Machine Season 2 with Tormenta and New Gold being recorded with that in mind instead of the Cracker Island theme, so that could be the reason why they sound a bit out of place
I like both this album and The Now Now a lot. I think Damon is really good at producing and directing that style of music, I like the more chill Gorillaz cuts.
I've seen it already on the Gorillaz RUclips channel but it's a bit buried under Season One...no one seems to even know it's there and it is definitely skipable...
if you think about it, the only 100% experimental gorillaz albums were song machine and damon's personally written albums like the fall, all the others were a mixture of experimental and what was the music in the era they were released, but in this album they played it too safe, i'm not saying they've turned full capitalistic, i mean, song machine was just two years ago, but they went too much on the "what music was when they released" part, this album is, musically speaking, well made, but lacks the experimental part their older albums had, that i can also notice in the fact that there was no bidimensional frame by frame animation like there was in all the other album's music videos, like i said, this was a lazy album, kinda like humanz was, and if, like in the case of humanz, they start dropping fire again after this one, i'll die happy
Feel like I'm in the minority in saying this is their best album since their comeback. Perhaps it's the shorter runtime but I felt this was more concise, cohesive, and fun than even Song Machine 1. Silent Running is easily one of if not my favorite song of theirs since their comeback.
honestly out of all of the album since the comeback I think Humanz was the best. for how goofy it is it was really immersive (with the exception of Sex Murder Party, my least favorite Gorillaz track OAT)
@@connorvanhelsing4768 I feel like Humanz has the reputation it has solely because it was the first Gorillaz project after 5 years. Take it for what it is, it's a fun record. Inconsistent and flawed absolutely, but enjoyable overall
I really feel like nobody would really care about this album if it wasn't made by Gorillaz. It was honestly so bland after 3 songs that I stopped listening to it, not because it's bad, but because I feel like I could replace the music with pretty much any other indie soft-rock / synth pop and get the exact same experience. I don't need to listen to Gorillaz for that.
IDK man, I think this is one of my favorite Gorillaz albums in recent time. It's a great play all the way through. I don't see myself skipping any of these songs when they come up. Yeah sure, I think both Stevie Nicks & Beck could've been utilized more/better, but this is a banger for me. Probably top ten AOTY, we'll see!
Sonically it is divorced from Gorillaz's colorful music, but I still admire it front to back just as some synth pop played forward, even tracks like Oil have choruses so digustingly sweet I can't help but enjoy them. Not the project I hoped for, but I'll take it with gratitude.
7/10. The songs grow on you the more you listen. I wasn’t too crazy about Silent Running at first but now I feel it’s possibly the best song on the album. I have a love for New Gold but that’s more because I was at the gig when they played it live for first time… so it immediately became a special track for me 😊
The first several songs of the album definitely baited a bit and then a whole different album took over. I noticed the songs that were released earlier were the songs that followed the way of Song Machine, a cop-out, really. Silent Running is easily the best track on this album followed by Oil but Tarantula is the most underrated. I can’t make heads or tales on Damon’s focus here but it’s at best a B+ graded album.
The three first albums of Gorillaz felt groundbreaking each in their own way. Since then it has a felt more like an excuse for Damon to collaborate with anyone he feels like. Some good tunes every now and then, but non anywhere close to Demon Days, Plastic Beach and the self-titled album.
The main problem that I had with this album was the rollout, by the time the album came out we already had 6 of the 10 songs released as singles and it didn’t really leave much to be excited about. Sure the deluxe helps a bit but not by much. At least with song machine they had a full b side to the album with some really good songs.
Song Machine Season One is definitely good...but that's ALSO a full TEN SONGS released as singles prior to full album release with ANOTHER TEN SONGS that were to be released for Season Two! Half of album released as singles, half as B-sides just like with Cracker Island which released FIVE singles and FIVE B-sides, so no difference here except for more videos for the singles...and the fact that the B-sides are also Season Two and ALSO now have videos on RUclips, sooo...what is your point again? For me, the sticking point is that the songs for Song Machine Season One are VERY good, culminating in "The Lost Chord" which works as a finale on ALL levels, however, I can't say the same for the Season Two B-sides. They just don't carry that vibe at all. However, not one, not two but THREE of Cracker Island's B-sides ARE now on my personal faves list...Oil, The Tired Influencer and Tarantula. That's THREE B-sides album only tracks that feel every bit as worthy as any of the singles for being faves...while 'Skinny Ape', which IS one of the singles, is NOT on that list. Does this album hit 100%? No...but no Gorillaz album ever does. However, I DO like how even some of the B-side tracks hold up as well as any single and yet one single doesn't. This shows a creative who is in it for the ART not the money. For whatever reason, Skinny Ape needed to be a single and so it was, simple as that. We NEED more artists like that out there, artists who aren't afraid to follow their creative instincts even when it doesn't make commercial sense. I may not always agree...however, I can still respect the decision itself and give a solid 👍 for Damon following it. My only criticism would have to be the lack of proper music videos to keep the story filled in at all necessary points. We basically got the epilogue last, an unrelated moment with the Skinny Ape AR experience and then the dramatic climax with Silent Running but all the rest was just in lore drops. While I did love the drops... nothing beats seeing the WHOLE band doing what they do best and telling their story through music videos. Plus, the overwhelming focus on Murdoc in every appearance coupled with Noodle talking only in Japanese when she IS given a chance to speak. I do feel like Jamie Hewlett needs to focus MORE on making good storyline videos, giving EACH member a chance to appear to their respective fans AND REMEMBER THAT NOODLE DOES SPEAK ALL LANGUAGES NOW! Yeah, that's a part of DEMON DAYZ LORE, so STOP FORGETTING THAT! That being said, still releasing bangers and still fun to follow...Cracker Island a DEFINITE WIN! 😍😁
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I value Anthony's opinions because he is so consistent. He always hates the exact songs that I love
Straight up the only song I kind of liked on this album was the “New Gold” one 😂. Definitely didn’t sound like the gorillaz tho so I’m with him on that
@@Supertasticisaword same here.
I loved this album, all the songs are great. I loved OIL!!!
@@Supertasticisaword samee
Right? Possession Island is great. Gets me emotional
It honestly felt like we heard most of the album before it even came out
That was my biggest gripe too, it takes away from listening on release when I’ve heard 5/10 tracks already
Especially when the singles they put out were the meat of the album. Kinda feels like they brought the bread sticks after the entree.
The singles were pretty much the best songs from it too
That's why I try to never listen to the singles before albums come out
Welcome to the world of streaming promotions... It seems pretty hard to work an album over a year like it was pre streaming. More and more all the promotions leads up to the album, because once the album is released, that is the hugest an album will chart. I see more remixes being released as singles post album release, because it no longer makes sense to release a song that is already out there. It's a total different mentality of promotions than it was even ten years ago when they were still pushing physical media as the mainstay.
Ive accepted we wont have another Demon Days or Plastic Beach. Song Machine was the best theyve released in years but at this point Im just happy Damon Albarn has any ideas he still wants to put out
I think expecting a perfect album from artists is hard ask no matter the skill. Im happy we got some banger songs out of it.
Yeah honestly they still release good songs each album. Even that’s impressive for a dude who’s been making music for over 30 years
Damon has certainly forgotten the Gorillaz sound. Classic Gorillaz felt eccentric, nuGorillaz just feels generic.
Song Machine is so good that I'm not even mad that I rate Cracker Island a 5/6. It still has some great tunes like Silent Running. Tormenta with Bad Bunny is pretty nice and better than what I expected, considering I don't even like Bunny's music.
But seriously, Song Machine is SO GOOOOD.
I’m happy getting a couple bangers per album, which this definitely delivered.
If Gorillaz had an actual gorilla singing on the album Anthony would have given it a 10/10
Well at least they named the album after melon
without a doubt
Yes anthony fantano loves gorillas, on young thug's JEFFERY fantano could not stop talking about 'Harambe' and put it in his FAV TRACKS
🦍
to be fair, any album featuring a real gorilla singing is legally a 10/10 thanks to the 2017 Cesar Accords, our alliance with the ape planet.
I think it's incredible that Damon at 54 years old still knows how to connect with the new generations, I really feel identified with his songs
Like, as okay as the album is, the fact that he kicked the whole Cracker Island project off with fucking Thundercat is incredible. Damon has somehow always stayed connected with the modern music scene
I think this is a very interesting comment, because I’m really glad that Damon is able to pull off these tricks and appeal to the younger generations so easily. But at the same time, it’s the older generations that he is seemingly slipping away from. I can’t count how many comments I see all over social media basically saying “I wish they went back to the early Gorillaz sound one day” and I can’t agree more. But, me being one of the four people who really enjoyed “Humanz” just as much as I enjoyed “Demon Days,” I really enjoy the fact that Damon is just doing what he wants to do instead of holding onto his 15+ year old hits.
I agree! I thinks the overall style of cracker island was not flawed at all. Anthony's con points were still true but I don't think he really explored the really good parts of the album either. Also he needs to listen to tired influencer more. I used to hate it, now it's one of my favorites on the album
because damon is not scared of new sounds and genres . he's not scared of making new friends in music world. he's creativ eand open minded. i remind you all that he was in BLUR and while being in blur he made almost entire self titled gorillaz album.
Plot twist: you two have the same age
"Feels like im being taken to a tropical island vacation at gun point"
He has such a way with words
Welcome to Rio.
🤣🤣🤣
Pretty sad that the track with MC Bin Laden its in the deluxe version. Many bonus tracks are better than the "normal" album tracklist
It would’ve made the track list so much better if they had incorporated the deluxe songs onto the main album giving it some more variety. It would work especially well if you removed a weaker song or two to fit them in too imo.
THE DELUXE SONGS ARE ALL BETTER THAN THE MAIN ALBUM, AS THEY BE NOT PRODUCED BY GREG KURSTIN. HIS SOUND IS EXTREMELY BORING
i thought all the deluxe songs were dogshit.
@@hauntydoll finally. Something we can all agree on. Let’s dump Greg, PLEASE
bololo haha bololo haha
The bonus tracks with Del were incredible. Sounded like old Gorillaz
Yeah, the Chicken song reminded me a lot of G and D Sides Gorillaz.
There is only 1 bonus track with Del. Then there's one with De La Soul (the final Gorillaz x De La Soul collab, as Trugoy The Dove died on 12 February, 2023) and one with this Brazilian rapper named MC Bin Laden.
it's awful, it sounds unfinished
Song is horrible
Yeah the song sucks and it’s kinda fucked up that Del’s big return is on some dinky little bonus track but it somehow captures that classic Gorillaz sound so well it doesn’t seem like it’s been two decades at all. That funky homosapien must simply hop on a full beautiful track again soon. Please…
You can’t just make a video essay about why “Cracker” is a slur and call it a review, Anthony.
Do people legitimately enjoy and laugh at these jokes anymore, or are they just liked as an obligation to keep a joke going.
@@S.E.J someone’s gotta do it
@@S.E.J they're funny sometimes but not as much as they used to
@@S.E.J you're just mad you didn't get invited to the island.....
saltine.
@@S.E.J fantano jokes are the worst. only funny the first time
This review must have been hard for Anthony. He obviously is a huge fan of Damon and the Gorillaz, but you could tell from the singles that he was not feeling this one for the most part. Thanks for keeping it real, Anthony! (Even though I loved the album myself!l
He gave it a good score though
A six is a good score
"most songs are bland and the collaborator could be removed, I'm being taken to a tropical island by gunpoint, etc"
Then gives it a six? IDK there might be a conflict with the interview with Murdoc. He must've come to some sort of agreement about the review?
@BaroTheMadman I wouldn't go that far. The 6 in in alignment with his opinions. Match the colorfully expressed negatives with the admittedly impeccable production and a new addition to all time fav Gorillas singles with Skinny Ape and kudos for the album being successful in theme.
if they didn't drop 5 singles before the album i think he would've enjoyed way more, even up to a 8. It's psychological. bad rollout.
Sad Melon didn't even mention the most potential hit of this album, Controllah with the brazillian MC, dude that song bangs hard, and with the support of the country this song might as well help a lot with the sales of the album! Every brazillian person I know is completely fascinated by this project
if they didn't drop 5 singles before the album i think he would've enjoyed way more, even up to a 8. It's psychological. bad marketing. Even putting a banger like controllah out of the album is a mistake in my opinion
Say his name
For those who don't know, it's MC Bin Laden
mano quem que pediu pra gorillaz fz uma musica com o mc bin laden maluco, de tanto rapper br
o flow dele foi bom, eu me surpreendi com a qualidade, mas visto que essa é a primeira vez que muito fã de goriĺlaz vai ter contato com rap brasileiro atraves do mc bin laden, eu nem sei oq dizer
vao curtir ne, gringo odeia ver pais de 3o mundo fznd musica boa
oq eles querem é ver os macaquinho fofinho da praia dançando sem camisa e fznd "barulhinhos exoticos" pra eles se sentirem ecleticos
e o mc bin laden é a pequena sereia do tietê pro ego dos gringo, o nome dele é engraçadinho ain hihihi olha so os untermensch usando nome de terrorista
ve se o damon faria cracker island com o groovador (ou o vitti, ou insira lista dos 50 baixistas brasileiros que destruiriam o thundercat so de segurar o baixo) e controllah com o lil tay ou com o boyinaband, quando é gringo ele so pega o top dos pop, fatoumata diawara maluco, miho hatori, del the funken homosapien, NINGUEM MAIS QUE MF DOOM
mas quando vem pro brasil, o que que a gente tem pra oferecer, o carinha do bomba patch 2014
Hoho haha
So this album started out as Song Machine Season 2, but after the first 3 songs were done Damon realized they carried a similar sound and tone so he figured they'd work better as a typical studio album.
Yeah, Season 2 will come around whenever Damon doesn’t have one particular theme in mind.
I could see that
Tormenta definitely feels like a song machine banger
@@Yerrrrrrrrrr It originally was supposed to be. Tormenta and New Gold were supposed to be the first two singles for Song Machine Season 2 before it got shelved.
Criminal that Oil isn’t in best tracks, but yeah a lot of the album feels a little bland and plays too safe, ironically the bonus tracks were more fun and felt like old school Gorillaz, even if they were also kinda half baked
Fax, oil should’ve been on best tracks😢
The song with del could have easily been a slam dunk but every part that wasn't del was so poorly executed
Oil is very good but those bonus tracks or whatever are definitely made for a g sides or what have you
Oil might've been one of the best tracks if they kept Julian Casablancas on it. It hardly feels like Stevie's even there.
@@thewhatness I really hope that ends up happening on a future project
As I predicted when he interviewed Murdoc, all that work for a 6. Bravo, melonthony
I agree with this take. I don’t hate the album, I just found myself going back to Song Machine and finding much more inspiration behind each number. I think I’d have liked this album more if it stuck to the cult angle harder and made more… sense as a project. 6/10 is perfectly acceptable from Damon, I just hope Song Machine Volume 2 is in the works too.
@user-hk8uy4ux9ywhat source? From what I’ve known Season 2 will just come around in time whenever Damon doesn’t have a theme in mind
@@hoodiepen He said it in an interview a couple of days ago. Something about “I don’t even understand why they called it Season One in the first place.”
@@allthis_time hmm, I guess The Lost Chord’s music video felt like the finale for Song Machine. Still hoping for a Season 2 tho
Song Machine was amazing, so this new album was disappointing. Not bad but definitely a step down from Song Machine.
You can’t just give examples of what you like and don’t like about this album and call it a review, Anthony.
How do reviews work?
@@coldinside8040 it's a joke
Bro is spittin' FACTS 😤😤😤
@@wenuscs2 ANSWER THE QUESTION!
and then he thinks rating it out of 10 is gonna help?? i was ready for a review and this was pure clickbait
they released so much singles off of a 10 track album
They do this every time, leaking half the album really diminishes the experience of a new album
@@PhenomenalJec exactly. A album release should have 2-3 singles max
@@JohnSmith-mc2zz Nah Albarn seems really proud of this one. It's one of the only times he's done a press run not at gunpoint.
@@JohnSmith-mc2zz no, just it took longer to release than expected, so they didn't want the album to have nobody interested in it when it released
Many.
Incredibly happy to see Brazil represented in the bonus tracks, wish you would've given Controllah and the other ones a review as well
Captain chicken, Controllah, and Crocadillaz are the best songs on the album, all brought to us by the letter C. :D
He absolutely ignored Controllah, the HARDEST song and the funniest contrast between rought -life lyrics and Damon singing light silly verses in the middle. Its a banger ignore if you DARE.
Really think they should’ve added the bonus cuts to the main track list. Controllah, Crocodillaz, and Captain Chicken would’ve made the whole thing pop a bit more imo
De La Soul and Del features? Like come on that’s main track list material for sure
If Gorillaz called the album "Melon Island", Anthony would've given it a 10/10
literally lmao
fantano fans try to make an original comment challenge: IMPOSSIBLE
@@ejodh0826 HOLY JOB 🙏🏾
@ianhumane Nice Kurama pfp!
there is a possibility Damon will title future album like that LMAO
One thing I can appreciate is that even as someone who loves this album (me) I can see this score and still understand how he got to that opinion. That’s an underrated aspect of music reviewing
literally anyone when their favourite track gets criticized by melon
@@conwuzere literally categorically untrue lol
Yep, I think that's what keeps me coming back for Anthony's reviews even tho I find myself disagreeing with his takes a significant amount of the time (this time included). He always states his case well and is critical in a way that's clear and engaging to watch.
Same here, except with the newest Korn album. I wanna fight him for his review.
That's an underrated aspect of opinions in general. Even when people may disagree on something, you can generally still find value in others' perspectives.
Controllah is the best track on the album without being in the album
Controllah is so good. Osama really did his thing
Someone put this on a loop for me🤩 👏OBSESSED 👏
O cara usa foto do louco da turma da monica e quer fazer eu acreditar que um gringo fez esse take
It’s honestly growing on me. Think its my favorite since plastic beach. Wish there was a little more experimentation and maybe 2 more songs longer on the standard edition. But I get some good vibes from this thing. Reminds me of plastic beach at times, I get slow country vibes from tired influencer. Idk, I’m liking it even though I’ve heard half the album for seems like forever.
Yeah, I really vibed with a couple songs from the outset and sometimes got lost in the album and it’s grown on me so much, I love it now. My favourite in a long time and really resonates with me.
I agree. Song Machine was their return-to-form album and one of their best to ever be released since Demon Days and Plastic Beach. Cracker Island, even if there are 2-3 bops however, feels like just one of their albums.
Honestly, I kind of feel the same way, it seems like a much shorter album. There wasn’t really a lot of immersion like there is on something like plastic beaches. I think that’s what gorillas is missing, the immersion story of it all
I've never disliked a Gorillaz album, and this one's no different. Always an enjoyable listen, even if they're not all 10/10s. That being said, don't think Damon will ever surpass the first three albums.
Well, he did with Song Machine, easily one of my fav gorillaz albums, but i get what youre saying, however im still happy with Damon trying new sounds and still experimenting in every single album he releases. I believe there is at least 3-5 amazing songs in each album he makes.
Song Machine has grown on me very quickly. Demon Days and Plastic Beach are pretty untouchable, but hot damn if that album doesn’t have some bangers.
I just love the approach of essentially releasing a bunch of singles instead of making a cohesive album. Works really nicely with the way Gorillaz likes to genre hop and collab with all kinds of artists. Doesn’t transport you to another world in the way Plastic Beach does, but it’s just an absolute onslaught of great tracks
@@cactusloser I felt like Song Machine was at its most transportive when it was releasing singles. They would package each track with cute little intros and outros featuring the band making banter, usually less than a minute long, never overstayed its welcome. Not to mention the sheer amount of low-budget animated episodes and COVID-Compliant "virtual concert" really being a treat for those that like the art. Song Machine struck right to the heart of it.
I really want a song machine vol 2, I'd say vol 1 is definitely on par with the original first album, but demon days and plastic beach are untouchable
@@gabsnandes7818 Apparently Jamie and Damon said in a recent public event that fans shouldn't expect a Song Machine S2. And that kinda sucks, SM has only grown on me over time. I would place it right below Demon Days and Plastic Beach and not too far from them either.
I'm noticing a pattern with Gorillaz, where in-between the more ambitious projects (Humanz, Song Machine), they'll release more low-key projects like The Now Now and this album. And these more low-ley projects always get labled as "mid" or "bland." But I disagree, I don't think every Gorillaz album needs to be cutting edge or punchy or whatever. I think they also excel with these "vibe" albums.
Agree, The Now Now and this could only possibly be considered mid by Gorillaz standards. Both solid albums.
The Gorillaz version of a Mid album is "Aww phooey, this album only has 4 or 5 unskippable bangers on it"
I get the vibe that these "interlude" albuns work more as a atmospheric pack that you go through at once and every song Works better as a whole than a bunch of singles
While I’d give the album closer to a 7/10, I love the fact that melon showed some appreciation for the piano version of Silent Running, it’s phenomenal!
Also Skinny Ape being in the favourites is based.
I can't fathom how colorful, quirky, energetic and animated features like Del The Funky Homosapien and MC Bin Laden were reduced to bonus tracks in favor of utterly forgettable tunes like Tired Influencer and Tarantula. It's weird to hear a Gorillaz album that has hardly any rap in it.
Gorillaz hasn’t incorporated rap in a lot of their songs dude
Tarantula is one of the best tracks on the album
Agreed aside from Tarantula, that’s a great song.
@@yaboithegod5007 yes they have what are you talking about bro
@@tomatofy910 they literally have not lmao like in the earlier days yeah
The song with Mc Bin Laden on the deluxe deserves a shout
I don't think there's any song on the album that I'd call bad, but the album feels underwhelming as a whole. The production in particular is so uncharacteristically unadventurous, I still couldn't hum Oil if you asked me to and I've listened to it ten times by now. I do wish the bonus tracks had been worked into the album, I really think it would have flowed much better and offered more of a Gorillaz feel. Captain Chicken is hilarious and Controllah is among the best songs they've made in a long time.
And while yeah, New Gold is kinda just a Tame Impala song, those overlapping vocals on the back half send me straight to heaven every time, so groovy.
I love this record and the chill and melancholic vibes it has. The way Damon uses his 2D voice really gives me the feelings of when I just discovered Gorillaz with the self titled first record. The deluxe tracks are fantastic and actually most of the songs i really really like. Silent running is so good.
I like all the people talking about the downfall of gorillaz acting as if Song Machine didn’t exist . At this point I believe Damon is capable to release bangers but he just does what he wants .
SONG MACHINE BE FAR FROM PERFECT
@@hauntydoll id say it’s quite the opposite, from the online reception it got from fans and critics I’d say it’s closer to perfect than far from perfect
@@mexicanduckxii9168 But, commercially, Song Machine underperformed and this new album looks like its going to become the #2 album just righter after Demon Days (in terms of current numbers, don't get me we wrong, pre-digital era numbers is another story). The Bad Bunny song is going through the roof because its Bad Bunny, New Gold looks like its getting to a hundred million streams on Spotify soon as well, the other songs all also launched very well and their top 10 is stuffed with new material since a year - something Song Machine never achieved for so long.
@@madness9651 yeah I get what you mean , but comparing an album in a comercial way it’s almost always a waste of time. You can’t just say Song Machine didn’t do well commercially and say it’s a bad album , or have it the other way around and say that an album that sold well is a great album . Also it’s pretty obvious that this album is more commercially focused , bad bunny and Tame impala in songs already are gonna sell a lot , and give a lot of streams regardless of the quality .
Not liking Baby Queen is INSANE
That might be my favorite song off the album next to the title single
Creepy lyrics, but good song still
I don't care for it. Best ones on the album for me are Silent Running, Skinny Ape, Cracker Island and Oil
How are they creepy? There is nothing sexual in the lyrics and even if there was, she's a 44 year old woman he singing to.
Honestly my least favourite song by Gorillaz, it just sounds so silly and awkward. I can't help but imagine the Gorillaz cast all standing in a circle around a little baby and singing "Oooh, the baby queen!".
I can’t believe he gave it a 6 just because Tormenta in spanish means melon.
This is a pretty solid album to just have playing in the background while doing any given thing.
@4tado Well obviously. I'm just saying it has a nice relaxing vibe that isn't too distracting is all.
@@4tado Based light 6
@@4tado why not
🍆
@@4tado Gorillaz is my go-to background music.
Personally think this is the cleanest sounding record production-wise I’ve heard in a while. Just listened on some studio monitors for the first time and it’s so smooth. Booming drums, vibrant synths, lush vocals. It all just fits together so nicely. I do agree, though, that some of the tracks could’ve used a bit more in terms of songwriting. I still do really like oil and baby queen is good, but they both felt like something was missing in both. Both needed some sort of change partway through the song to be more dynamic and maybe more instrumental variety throughout. Solid 8/8.5 for me.
As a long time Gorillaz fan. I agree with this review.
I'd slot this under The Now Now in Gorillaz rankings. It mostly works for me but can't help but feel like a letdown after Song Machine
I feel like this is the general life cycle of Gorillaz projects. They do a giant super ambitious one, and then a small kinda vibey one. Plastic beach to The Fall. Humanz to Now Now. Song Machine to Cracker Island. And on and on it goes
@@rileyscherer129 you just made me realize that the bloaded nightmare of humanz is almost fixed when you listen to the now now, so according to the bands lore murdoc was ruining gorillaz
@Riley Scherer That's actually a good observation. I wouldn't even call the smaller vibe albums all that bad. I think the biggest crime The Fall and some parts of Cracker Island commit are just being fine and forgettable.
I did enjoy this album but after revisiting song machine, I feel like Gorillaz are a lot more better when Damon's constantly bouncing ideas and styles off each other rather than limiting them to a single theme
I just want big ass effort put on Gorillaz's lore again like phase 1, 2 and 3. They could use social media as a great tool to achieve this. But since Humanz, Gorillaz lore has been very "meh"
Did you even follow the new lore? If you didn't you can have Murdoc recite it all via RUclips shorts just here. The lore this phase was great and their immersion is better than ever before. The Murdoc voice actor is clearly having the time of his life. There's also a 2D podcast.
THIS! seriously for me one of my favorite bits about humanz was the lore
Not an unfair review, but still drastically underrating "Silent Running" IMO. Straight-up beautiful song that seems pretty simple at first glance, but there's so much going on beneath the surface, with the change in the number of measures in the chorus vs the verse, and the part where you expect the second chorus to hit but it does something totally different instead. Lots of subtle tricks that reinforce the melancholy of the lyrics and melody.
These are my thoughts exactly!! The album isn’t bad, but I don’t see myself going back to it in the future. As a person who loves the now now, this wasn’t even remotely close to the feeling and interest that album has. Idk, it feels very middle of the road (pun intended), it doesn’t lean enough into experimental storytelling or experimental music either. It’s just very meh. The lore is also very…. Not great? They’re trying to make it soo amazing and complex and it ultimately comes off as just: meh.
Also, I love how Anthony gave his honest opinion despite having interviewed Murdoc and having connections to Damon. Idk, I just appreciate his honesty and feel like his opinions hit the nail in the head. Hope that song machine season 2 comes out soon!
This. Ive seen a lot of people putting Cracker Island on "the same tier of The Now Now" , but even with both albuns being similar, The Now Now has so much... *Soul* , a soul that crack land lack
@@murilopereira7186 yes exactly!! The now now has so many hard hitting songs and chill songs, it's an amazing and cohesive experience! This... i just don't know
Plastic Beach and it's promotional material made the album feel like an experience.
Cracker Island feels like an underwhelming vacation to LA
It's still fun, and has It's moments, but I'm still being accosted by a guy in a Spirit Halloween Spiderman suit asking me for $20
We were right! 6 months later and Silent Running did grow on him!!
I don't get how many people are saying that this is Gorillaz downfall or that they're past their prime or whatever. We just got Song Machine, arguably their second best album, at the very least their 3rd best, and it was followed up with the Meanwhile EP which was 3 bangers. They shot for a dreamy aesthetic on this album and it seems like a lot of people just thought it was "Alright"
Some of their best songs are on this record, especially the deluxe tracks, and there will be better albums down the line. Idk why this album, which is by all metrics fine (and not even close to their worst) is spelling such doom and gloom for people. Idk I'd give it like a 7/10 personally but I also loved Oil and New Gold so there's that
also a 7/10, also liked Oil and New Gold. This is a The Now Now category album for me. Which is fine
Saying song machine is top 3 or even top 5 is insane
@@jasonlord9713 I'd be interested in knowing what you rank the albums then because SM not being top five is crazy imo
@@jasonlord9713 See, to me, saying Song Machine isn't top 5 feels wild.
The Lost Chord, Strange Timez, Pac Man, Desole'... like bro.. Go listen to Severed Head and come on back.
@@sebastiangarda191 Alr I was fucking around with saying it’s not top 5 ngl lmfao but it’s not touching the first 3 albums
My ranking is
1. Plastic beach
2. Demon days
3. S/t
4. Now now
5. I would say g sides but that’s technically not an album so I would go either humanz or SM
The fact he sings over Stevie Nicks and Beck for every verse they have is insane to me - such wonderful talent to put in the backseat
Beck and Damon are doing a Walker Brothers thing and it's awesome. Look it up if you don't know what I mean. As for Stevie, she chose to do those harmonies in that way and I think her contribution is obvious. Was Damon supposed to force her to do something else? Y'all have such strong opinions and zero desire to explore creative choices that you don't immediately understand.
@@leerylifeform Yeah, I agree. I think Beck and Stevie just did their own thing and added what they felt needed to be in their respected tracks. This is also the second review to call it either flavourless or soulless, which is bollocks. You can have a bland flavoured album, but calling an album flavourless makes zero sense, every track/album has a flavour even if you don't like it. Possession Island might be my favourite track off the album and is such a great closing track, it's got the signature melancholy tone, but there's a glimmer of hope in there too.
Great review Anthony! But it was weird a few days ago when you asked Murdoc frantically about "the fastest way to get to cracker Island"
A 6/10 feels shockingly high for this album especially with how unimpressed you sounded with most of this.
I don’t think gorillaz will hit you up anymore for an interview
I remember when people were wondering if Gorillaz would release a second album.
You should also review The Waeve, new band formed by Graham Coxon (Albarn´s bandmate from Blur) and his partner Rose Elinor Dougall. Their self-titled album is epic.
YES. album of the year on my list !
its obvious Anthony is a very lyric focused music consumer. From a musical standpoint this album is extremely harmonically clean, basseous and groovy which is something I love.
Completely agree with this. The production is REALLY strong. Very well mixed album
The bass on Baby Queen is gorgeous
Super underrated song. In my top 2 from the album.
i’m more excited about the artwork/visuals for this era than the album itself if i’m being honest. that being said, “Cracker Island” and “Skinny Ape” are both standouts imo!
Honestly some of these songs are some of the best I've heard from Gorillaz. My favorites in this album by far are Possession Island, Tormenta, and Silent Running
Tired influencer is one of my favorite tracks by rillaz ever, Damon crushes it and the melody and hook are really pretty. It’s a good song lyrically and musically
I can't even be mad. I 100% expected this score from him.
Yea, I mentally prepared😄 gotta remember the critiques are just personal preference, not necessarily about quality.
If song machine was a concept album with more of a cohesive identity, even just a pic of a location on the album art and maybe the band is on the moon or something lol, it would be up there with DD and Plastic Beach.
I loved this album. It's not perfect but still some bangers on this album and the world building is a nice payoff for life long fans of this digital band. They have become a visual medium as much as a sound media imo
if they didn't drop 5 singles before the album i think he would've enjoyed way more, even up to a 8. It's psychological. bad marketing. Even putting a banger like controllah out of the album is a mistake in my opinion
I think it's a brilliant album, seriously don't get the hate 🤔
Damon's singing has gotten so mopey. I remember reading how, on the debut, Dan the Automator told him to sing with more confidence, and I think it really worked. Sure, tracks like Slow Country still had his more gentle inflection, but it's been over a decade since the last 5/4 or M1A1. He's not really playing with his voice the way he used to. Even on Demon Days he was more bold in his performance, I think.
Ultimately, it's a taste thing. I'd like to hear Damon try to be a bit louder and more present. For me it's getting to the point that pretty much every guest vocalist on recent Gorillaz material outshines Damon completely.
He cannot sing like on the self-titled anymore because his voice deepened alot. Just listen to 13 and Nearer the Mountain More Pure the Stream Flows to take off the 2D filter and get a contemporary experience of what I mean. Then listen to Leisure and tell me the guy isn't incredible with coping of losing his original voice that made him famous. :)
WHIUTE LIGHT dudududu WHITE LIGHT
I guess you haven't heard Damon's other music then? He's always had a mopey side, it's kind of a British thing with the mostly chilly, overcast weather and slowly degrading quality of life, but there's a sobering realness to it and makes you feel more alive. He's the king of melancholy, even in his Blur days, you've got Clover over Dover, Out of Time and Battery in Your Leg, amongst others. As for his voice, he's 54 and your voice doesn't get better with age, it just keeps slipping.
What. Oil is my favorite track so far. I liked this album right off the bat, which while knowing myself, that means I might grow tired of it earlier. The past albums had to grow on me and became more cemented. Their first album was an immediate hit though because I was just a kid and Damon was just fucking around, so that's a match
If Clint Eastwood wasn't a preset Anthony would've given this album a 10/10
It's a good album overall. Nothing stellar but really enjoyable
the main issue would have been fixed if they just didn't have a deluxe, and added the 3 extra songs into the base album. only like 6-7 minutes extra, and all three songs are rap, so mixing them in would have done so much to break up the monotony.
i think the biggest killing blow to the tempo and concept of the album, for me, is the fact that the singles released before the album had a lot of funkiness, lot of hard hitting instrumentals. even with new gold, where the features arent too great, all of the features on the pre-released tracks are still far more present and engaging, to me, than the features that showed up with the rest of the non-deluxe album, and as mentioned earlier, a lot of the funky, head bobbing instrumentals got taken away too for some very, very bland instrumentation.
Gorillaz, at this point, just seems to be spinning its wheels. Mind you this was the band that got Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music on the same album
CORRECT OPINION GORILLAZ STOPPED HAVING CRED AGES AGO. THE NOW NOW WAS THE FINAL GLIMPSE OF EFFORT MATEY.
@@hauntydollSong Machine is so good though idk what you’re talking about lol
@@markercrayon457 IN ME OPINION, IT IS CERTAINLY GOOD, BUT MUCH LESS INVOLVED AND FLESHED OUT THAN PAST ALBARN MUSIC. IT BE HAVING SOME GREAT TUNES, BUT SOME THAT, ME MUST SAY, ARE AMONG DAMONS ALL-TIME WORST. THATS JUST ME THOUGH!
understandable score for this one BUT I found it to be the perfect night drive vibe, was listening to it late while driving home with my family and we were all enjoying it
I was worried that you’d be pushed to give this album a much more positive review, due to the interview with one of the characters, etc. I’ve been a Gorillaz fan for 10+ years, and this album is one of the worst I’ve ever heard. I’m happy you stood true to yourself and your opinion for this one. Again, this is my personal opinion, no shame in liking it, but I honestly think that at this point, nobody involved in the creative team for Gorillaz has any interest in the project anymore. Gorillaz should be laid to rest.
I think this album is what happens when someone tries to force the idea in their head to happen instead of just letting them happen. Maybe more time could've helped sharpened some of the rougher parts🤷🏻♀️
yeah I agree, because the core idea of the album is great, the title track itself might be one of my favorite Gorillaz song in general and a lot of the ideas here had potential, but must of it feels rushed
I think this was supposed to tie into the Gorillaz movie and when Netflix pulled the plug on them, it fucked them up.
What is the core idea of the album
Albums have gotten much shorter in recent years because of the shift from CDs with an 80 minute time limit back to LPs with a 40 minute limit. As a general rule, I like that better - stressing quality over quantity. With bands like Gorillaz, Beastie Boys, The Voidz and Ween - with a very wide range of styles - I think the longer format often works better and allows for weird tracks that wouldn't make the album otherwise. As much as I like Cracker Island - my favorite since Plastic Beach - I wish it was weirder.
I’ll never forget ”we all live on a plastic beach” seared into my mind
Standout tracks for me: Silent Running, Cracker Island, Tarantula, Oil
Cool concept, but some of the songs on the back half seemed a little undercooked. Still liked it for the most part though.
I really thought this would be a more positive review, I have seriously enjoyed a large majority of this album, its been on repeat for me
I liked some of Gorillaz' earlier works, so I decided to take a chance and pre-order this album on vinyl based on the singles they put out (LOVED the title track, Skinny Ape, and New Gold). So I thought "hmm... love these singles! So the rest of the album MUST be a similar vibe!". I def feel a bit let down... The rest of the songs weren't doing it for me. I'll still keep listening and see if it grows on me, but overall I was a bit disappointed on this album.
Anthony, isn't it a little insensitive to refer to Great Britain as "Cracker Island" for the entire review? Very offensive!
I’m not kidding when I say this is my favorite Gorillaz album of all time. Not a single song that I don’t love. Kinda surprised he didn’t review the 3 deluxe songs
Xandão mete a review do deluxe pro pai
I'd give it a high 7 myself. Agree with a lot of your points, but could not disagree more about Oil and Possession Island. Those are 2 of the best tracks on the album specifically because of the surprisingly subtle features and I want more Gorillaz in that style.
I liked this album quite a bit. Sounding safe is not a crime, they've been there before and the results are some nice, easy on the ears tracks. I'm sure Damon can and will deliver more whacky experimental Gorillaz stuff in the future, but this is still good.
whoever said "when anthony gives this a strong 5" on the murdoc interview, you were ON POINT with your prediction
Personally I love most of the songs on the album
I really was not expecting Anthony to dance the Shake it Bololo when mentioning Controllah, but I'm gald he liked it.
I actually enjoyed this album way more than i thought i would. The extra songs on the deluxe album is really taking me back to Demon Days... Days!
This album was originally going to be Song Machine Season 2 with Tormenta and New Gold being recorded with that in mind instead of the Cracker Island theme, so that could be the reason why they sound a bit out of place
Crazy how they named an album after the UK
I like both this album and The Now Now a lot. I think Damon is really good at producing and directing that style of music, I like the more chill Gorillaz cuts.
“I’m sure the second season of Song Machine is due any day now…”
Me too Melon, me too…😔
I've seen it already on the Gorillaz RUclips channel but it's a bit buried under Season One...no one seems to even know it's there and it is definitely skipable...
if you think about it, the only 100% experimental gorillaz albums were song machine and damon's personally written albums like the fall, all the others were a mixture of experimental and what was the music in the era they were released, but in this album they played it too safe, i'm not saying they've turned full capitalistic, i mean, song machine was just two years ago, but they went too much on the "what music was when they released" part, this album is, musically speaking, well made, but lacks the experimental part their older albums had, that i can also notice in the fact that there was no bidimensional frame by frame animation like there was in all the other album's music videos, like i said, this was a lazy album, kinda like humanz was, and if, like in the case of humanz, they start dropping fire again after this one, i'll die happy
Feel like I'm in the minority in saying this is their best album since their comeback. Perhaps it's the shorter runtime but I felt this was more concise, cohesive, and fun than even Song Machine 1. Silent Running is easily one of if not my favorite song of theirs since their comeback.
honestly out of all of the album since the comeback I think Humanz was the best. for how goofy it is it was really immersive (with the exception of Sex Murder Party, my least favorite Gorillaz track OAT)
WRONG
@@connorvanhelsing4768 Try listening to live renditions of Sex Murder Party. Totally flipped my opinion of it.
@@dildonius hmm, I'll give it a shot. I still listen to Humanz all the time so it's probably worth doing
@@connorvanhelsing4768 I feel like Humanz has the reputation it has solely because it was the first Gorillaz project after 5 years. Take it for what it is, it's a fun record. Inconsistent and flawed absolutely, but enjoyable overall
I really feel like nobody would really care about this album if it wasn't made by Gorillaz.
It was honestly so bland after 3 songs that I stopped listening to it, not because it's bad, but because I feel like I could replace the music with pretty much any other indie soft-rock / synth pop and get the exact same experience. I don't need to listen to Gorillaz for that.
IDK man, I think this is one of my favorite Gorillaz albums in recent time. It's a great play all the way through. I don't see myself skipping any of these songs when they come up. Yeah sure, I think both Stevie Nicks & Beck could've been utilized more/better, but this is a banger for me. Probably top ten AOTY, we'll see!
Sonically it is divorced from Gorillaz's colorful music, but I still admire it front to back just as some synth pop played forward, even tracks like Oil have choruses so digustingly sweet I can't help but enjoy them. Not the project I hoped for, but I'll take it with gratitude.
Me and a friend listened too this (Cracker Island) at work and yeah my initial reaction was "Damn that was the Now Now 2"
7/10. The songs grow on you the more you listen. I wasn’t too crazy about Silent Running at first but now I feel it’s possibly the best song on the album. I have a love for New Gold but that’s more because I was at the gig when they played it live for first time… so it immediately became a special track for me 😊
I will say this the high points on this album really outweigh the low points on this album
The first several songs of the album definitely baited a bit and then a whole different album took over. I noticed the songs that were released earlier were the songs that followed the way of Song Machine, a cop-out, really. Silent Running is easily the best track on this album followed by Oil but Tarantula is the most underrated. I can’t make heads or tales on Damon’s focus here but it’s at best a B+ graded album.
The three first albums of Gorillaz felt groundbreaking each in their own way. Since then it has a felt more like an excuse for Damon to collaborate with anyone he feels like. Some good tunes every now and then, but non anywhere close to Demon Days, Plastic Beach and the self-titled album.
The main problem that I had with this album was the rollout, by the time the album came out we already had 6 of the 10 songs released as singles and it didn’t really leave much to be excited about. Sure the deluxe helps a bit but not by much. At least with song machine they had a full b side to the album with some really good songs.
Song Machine Season One is definitely good...but that's ALSO a full TEN SONGS released as singles prior to full album release with ANOTHER TEN SONGS that were to be released for Season Two! Half of album released as singles, half as B-sides just like with Cracker Island which released FIVE singles and FIVE B-sides, so no difference here except for more videos for the singles...and the fact that the B-sides are also Season Two and ALSO now have videos on RUclips, sooo...what is your point again?
For me, the sticking point is that the songs for Song Machine Season One are VERY good, culminating in "The Lost Chord" which works as a finale on ALL levels, however, I can't say the same for the Season Two B-sides. They just don't carry that vibe at all. However, not one, not two but THREE of Cracker Island's B-sides ARE now on my personal faves list...Oil, The Tired Influencer and Tarantula. That's THREE B-sides album only tracks that feel every bit as worthy as any of the singles for being faves...while 'Skinny Ape', which IS one of the singles, is NOT on that list. Does this album hit 100%? No...but no Gorillaz album ever does. However, I DO like how even some of the B-side tracks hold up as well as any single and yet one single doesn't. This shows a creative who is in it for the ART not the money. For whatever reason, Skinny Ape needed to be a single and so it was, simple as that.
We NEED more artists like that out there, artists who aren't afraid to follow their creative instincts even when it doesn't make commercial sense.
I may not always agree...however, I can still respect the decision itself and give a solid 👍 for Damon following it.
My only criticism would have to be the lack of proper music videos to keep the story filled in at all necessary points. We basically got the epilogue last, an unrelated moment with the Skinny Ape AR experience and then the dramatic climax with Silent Running but all the rest was just in lore drops. While I did love the drops... nothing beats seeing the WHOLE band doing what they do best and telling their story through music videos. Plus, the overwhelming focus on Murdoc in every appearance coupled with Noodle talking only in Japanese when she IS given a chance to speak. I do feel like Jamie Hewlett needs to focus MORE on making good storyline videos, giving EACH member a chance to appear to their respective fans AND REMEMBER THAT NOODLE DOES SPEAK ALL LANGUAGES NOW! Yeah, that's a part of DEMON DAYZ LORE, so STOP FORGETTING THAT!
That being said, still releasing bangers and still fun to follow...Cracker Island a DEFINITE WIN! 😍😁