Review

Gorillaz: The Fall (Parlophone)

Twiddling away on his ipad whilst putting up with the rigours of the road, Damon Albarn has incidentally whipped out the new Gorillaz album quite unexpectedly for the fans. No launch, no fanfare but a whole heap of intrigue.

To be honest it's a surprising project with moments of drifty, wafty beautiness, 'Amarillo' bears witness to this a gorgeous slice of melancholic electronica. Albarn sounds very lonely on this as if the tour bus has inadvertently left him behind!

'Bobby in Phoenix' (featuring the great Bobby Womack) is a top track too even if the wonky blippy synths spoil it somewhat. D.I.Y. Soul (courtesy of Apple!) still very classy and a beautiful chord structure gives this vignette real depth. 'Stylo' was the killer track on 'Plastic Beach' and this is up there with it.

Albarn does have a few senior moments though as one or two the instrumentals make me snooze off but it's life on the road echoing the music- boring!!!

'Hillbilly Man' starts off all dreamy and then goes into a downtempo kraftwerk feel and you sense Albarn's fun in this little toy and the myriad of sounds he's getting from it. A wonky slice of electronic revelry which always sounds good with DA's tonsils on it.

Patchy yes, but it's a warts an'all insight to a creative genius, just listen to 'Revolving Doors' reminds that Gorillaz have never been about fitting into a genre, or writing no1 hit singles. They promote music as an art form, bringing a fresh originality to a highly manufactured business.

They mix politics, technology, global messages + their creations whilst expanding the boundaries of music. That's them in a nutshell. It would be a real shame if they're bowing out on this one as rumour has it. Fumbling yet fascinating stuff.
Words Emrys Baird