Gorillaz
D-Sides

THE REVIEW

The Gorillaz are a musical project created by Blur's frontman Damon Albarn in 2001, alongside cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. The band is showcased as an animated cartoon (drawn by Hewlett himself), a project that has been hugely successful! First and foremost because, under the guise of a cartoon, they never take themselves too seriously, their music perfectly reflects their virtual world, a dark horror ironic world! Populated by friendly demons and quirky characters. Their music is a mix of genres, a lively blend of Hip Hop, electronic, Rock, and Big Beat (plus various other influences, like even Latin American). It's difficult to label this group with a musical genre; they are simply the Gorillaz! Across 13 tracks, 13 experiments, 13 different genres, 13 extravagant sound situations, from sweet sounds played with strings, violins, accordions, trumpets, to harder, dark, big beat tones. Their way of taking themselves with irony makes them one of the most original musical groups ever. "Gorillaz" and "Demon Days" are two extraordinary albums (great videos, live animated concerts, and eccentric sounds). From the latter album, this new collection named "D-Sides" was derived, a collection of B-Sides (songs that were part of an album's lineup but were not included in the final product).  

Who says a B-Side is an inferior song because it was left out of the album? Absolutely false! Incredibly, but... these tracks are almost better than those chosen for the album!

It starts with "68 State" which immediately introduces us to their quirky world, a lovely song characterized by little guitars, small bass loops, and highly catchy electronic sound effects. Not a bad introduction, followed by tracks that I define as little strokes of genius! "People" with a base similar to "Dare" introduces Albarn's charming voice (whimsical, ironic, and intentionally off-key!) pure cheerfulness. The sounds become increasingly bizarre with the melodic "HongKongation" which is stunning! Whereas the true essence of the Gorillaz emerges in "We Are Happy Landfill", a wild pop track with rock influences mixed with a cartoonish base made of cartoon-style sounds (trains, trumpets, horns...) spectacular and immensely fun! There's also room for an authentic masterpiece, "Hong Kong", with heart-wrenching melodic sounds that evoke an oriental sonic style and a truly heartfelt and passionate vocal performance. For those nostalgic for 80s electro-pop, the beautiful "Rockit" with a rap vocal part ending with muttering "blablablablablabla" (purely in the band's ironic style), a very 80s bass, and a vocoder-backed refrain in Kraftwerk style. A tear of nostalgia rolls down.

And after the song dedicated to "Clint Eastwood" in 2001, it's the turn of "Bill Murray", which sound-wise has nothing to envy to the other (light Funky, 30s choirs, trumpets, various electronics).

An unfortunate episode with "Murdoc Is God", which turns out to be too noisy, with little melody, almost annoying. However, the demo version of "Don't Get Lost In Heaven" is beautiful, less epic than the album version, and more cheerful and fun. The album concludes with a very special ballad, "Stop The Dams".

The collection also contains a remix disc from "Demon Days," which I won’t review because I never liked remixes. 

In short, an "unusual" album that will surely please all lovers of that more or less experimental musical genre. Full of beautiful sounds and irony, and very captivating.  To make the wait for the new album more bearable.