Not really a cartoony feel, in other words, but Gorillaz indulged in doom and gloom from their very first single, 'Clint Eastwood,' so this is not unfamiliar territory, nor is it all that dissimilar from the turgid moodiness of Blur's 2003 Think Tank. But 2005 is a much different year than 2001, and if Gorillaz exuded the heady, optimistic, future-forward vibes of the turn of the millennium, Demon Days is as theatrically foreboding as its title, one of the few pop records made since 9/11 that captures the eerie unease of living in the 21st century. It wasn't just that the cartoon concept made for light music - on the first Gorillaz album, Damon sounded as if he were having fun for the first time since Parklife.

Throughout his career, Albarn always was at his best when writing in character - to the extent that anytime he wrote confessionals in Blur, they sounded stagy - and Gorillaz not only gave him an ideal platform, it liberated him, giving him the opportunity to try things he couldn't within the increasingly dour confines of Blur. Hiding behind Hewlett's excellent cartoons gave Albarn the freedom to indulge himself, but it also gave him focus since it tied him to a specific concept. No, Gorillaz were always designed as a collective, featuring many contributors and producers, all shepherded by Albarn, the songwriter, mastermind, and ringleader. This isn't quite similar to Blur, a genuine band that faltered after Graham Coxon decided he had enough, leaving Damon behind to construct the muddled Think Tank largely on his own. Hewlett still provides new animation for Gorillaz - although the proposed feature-length film has long disappeared - but Dan the Automator is gone, leaving Albarn as the unquestioned leader of the group.

Buy the album Starting at $12.99ĭamon Albarn went to great pains to explain that the first Gorillaz album was a collaboration between him, cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, and producer Dan the Automator, but any sort of pretense to having the virtual pop group seem like a genuine collaborative band was thrown out the window for the group's long-awaited 2005 sequel, Demon Days. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

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