Gorillaz
Humanz

The Gorillaz, a creation (never was a term more fitting) of Damon Albarn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett, finally return after six years of silence with this new work entitled "Humanz".

A sort of concept album themed around a party for the end of the world, the new work is packed with absolutely prestigious guests and, unlike the previous "The Fall", is an incredibly ambitious project (including two apps, various multimedia initiatives and even a potential future TV series). Recorded between London, Paris, New York, Chicago, and Jamaica and produced by the Gorillaz themselves, The Twilite Tone and Remi Kabaka Jr., it was preceded (another curious innovation) by various singles broadcast in a short span of time from different radio stations.

Among these, the one chosen as the closing track of the standard edition of the album stands out, "We Got The Power": besides the vocal line entrusted to Jenny Beth of the Savages, the collaboration for the choirs with the former "enemy" of many battles Noel Gallagher (along with American rapper D.R.A.M.) is curious. The track is a great and very energetic synthpop, among the best things on the album.

Otherwise, musically (unlike the previous "The Fall") we are faced with a remarkably varied work filled with pleasantly distant sounds from one another: there is an increasingly marked approach to club music tout-court, as in "Andromeda", "Strobelite", and "Sex Murder Party", while elsewhere classic hip-hop makes an appearance (as in the first single "Saturnz Barz", enriched by the collaboration with rising Jamaican star Popcaan, or in the beautiful and pounding "Momentz", together with the indispensable De La Soul, as well as the recent release "Let Me Out") and some inevitable rock touches ("Charger", with Grace Jones).

In "Busted And Blue" Albarn retrieves the splendid atmospheres of his solo debut "Everyday Robots" and signs by himself a poignant pop ballad refined and dreamy, before the album inevitably picks up again and gives us, among others, a potential chart-breaker like "She’s My Collar" (which would have been a good idea as a launch single) and the now well-known (and honestly not essential) duet with Benjamin Clementine in "Hallelujah Money".

An excellent return for Gorillaz, which does not reach the heights of the beautiful "Demon Days" (probably unrepeatable) but confirms Damon Albarn’s skill and ability in managing projects of various origins, maintaining credibility and freshness in the various proposals.

Best track: Busted And Blue