The two main masterminds behind the whole enterprise were unmasked quite quickly. He was the first to be identified Damon AlbarnBlur’s distinctive voice. Later, information about the identity of the author of the visuals leaked, Jamie Hewlettcreator of the comic book “Tank Girl”, also available in Poland. It took a while to discover the identity of other characters, the names of Miho Hatori from the late Cibo Matto or Cass Browne from Senseless Things appeared, but the following years proved that only Albarn and Hewlett could be considered an untouchable foundation. The fictional 2D, Murdoc, Russell and Noodle, were not specific alter egos with their own identities, which over time began to raise the question of whether this band had any identity at all?
“The Mountain” it’s another album Gorillazwhich doesn’t resemble the album at all. It is, to some extent, coherent by taking up the topic of coming to terms with death. Shown through the eyes of a Westerner trying to deal with mourning in a way closer to Buddhism and Hinduism, in which sadness is not the dominant emotion. Musically, the material is loosely tied together by the return of the sitar player Anoushki Shankarpresent in six of the fifteen songs. However, these are only minor, cosmetic procedures. Overshadowed by treating each individual song as an opportunity to present another vision, planned only for these few minutes. The result is more of a medley than a larger project unified in mood and direction. Nothing new. This band hasn’t recorded an album in the truest sense of the word in over twenty years.
Producer Dan the Automator was largely responsible for the debut and for “Demon Days”. He watched over them from beginning to end and gave them a coherent sound oscillating between lo-fi, trip hop and dub. You can take two songs that are far from each other – for example, the bass-heavy and modest in stylistic means “Sound Check (Gravity)” from the first album and the masterfully dynamic “Every Planet We Reach is Dead” with an excellent, non-virtuosic piano solo by Ike Turner and a much more extensive arrangement – and you will still easily identify the same, slightly subdued or even dark textures that connect them. an aura that seemed to be a special feature of the group from that first, slightly spooky music video for “Clint Eastwood”.
Since “Plastic Beach”, the only recurring element is the appearance of these four fictional characters. Producers are constantly changing, synth-pop and funk started to come to the fore, it became more energetic, cheerful and more danceable. In addition, the guests are no longer a coherent part of something bigger – Del the Funky Homosapien was not just himself on the first album, he played the character of Del the Ghost Rapper who possessed the drummer Russell – only a disproportionate disruption. For example “The Manifesto” it’s more of a song by Argentinian rapper Trueno than by those he’s supposedly hosting. The same applies “Damascus”where Gorillaz appear to be sitting at a table at a Syrian wedding hosted by Omar Souleyman. In turn, Idles’ contribution in “The God of Lying” it seems more symbolic and media-friendly than reflecting the character of this band.
An interesting move – and one that fits well with the album’s theme – is to “invite” guests who have already left the earthly realm. In most cases, they have had some involvement with Gorillaz in the past. Dennis Hopper could be heard as the narrator in “Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head” from “Demon Days”, Bobby Womack left a very clear mark on the album “Plastic Beach”, and Mark E. Smith, the leader of The Fall, also sang on the same album in the song “Glitter Freeze”. Unfortunately, they also have peripheral, symbolic functions that are most strongly emphasized in the list of authors under the title of the work, and not in the music itself. Single lines and other short sound fragments in their archival performance resemble hidden references from Marvel films that only the most dedicated fans will spot and understand.
Conceptually, “The Mountain” has a lot to offer. Albarn and Hewlett worked on this material in mourning, immersed in a different way of looking at death that they had encountered during a joint trip to India. The cover, which is filled mainly with the vastness of the sky, with only a fragment of the top of the titular mountain connecting us to the earth, suggests detachment from problems, relief and freedom, but neither the words nor the sounds that fall during these sixty-six minutes are weighty enough for the listener to feel them on their own shoulders. Somewhere in these crowded ideas fired one after the other, emotions were lost. What’s worse, these aren’t even particularly interesting ideas. Rhythms, melodies, harmonies, in fact every component of each piece is strikingly banal.
“The Happy Dictator”the first single, although initially optimistic and the choruses reminiscent of Gorillaz’s older achievements, quickly turns out to be staggering in place to a simple, boring beat stretched for almost five minutes (twice as long would be enough). There are no lines here that you would want to cling to and repeat in your head. They go in one ear and immediately out the other. The same applies “Orange Country”, “Casablanca” and many others – in each of them there is an additional voice or an additional instrument, but there are no compositions in which they are more than just ornaments attached to completely colorless songs. This is even more disturbing because from the cover to the text content to the presence of Shankar, the influences of the Indian musical tradition are emphasized, and yet from beginning to end Albarn plays in the Western style in a four-quarter time signature. This is a textbook example of how not to draw inspiration from someone else’s culture.
For at least a decade, Gorillaz has given the impression of a project in which Damon Albarn puts all his boldest ideas, but not his best melodies. Hits like “Feel Good Inc.” or “Clint Eastwood” don’t happen to this band anymore. Rather, it has become a container for what the leader of Blur cannot put anywhere else. This is worthy of attention and recognition for courage, but it is hard not to get the impression that many of these experiments ended in failure, and the cost was the loss of the unique character of one of the most original bands from the early 21st century.
Gorillaz “The Mountain”, Kong