producer Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, rapper Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, sundry sampled sources and various members of the Tom Tom Club, Cibo Matto and Buena Vista Social Club.
Gorillaz is kind of a soundtrack CD to the jaw-dropping animation Web site gorillaz.com, but it stands alone as a playful piece of genre-squishing art pop. Inspired by the punky reggae parties of Sandinista!-era Clash, tracks like the dub-rap-rock mutation "Clint Eastwood" and its catchier two-step Rasta remix bring back the exuberance missing from Blur's last album, 13, while running with its anything-goes avant-aesthetic. These virtual Gorillaz would rather squeal than keep it real.
BARRY WALTERS
(RS 871 - June 21, 2001)
Yet another ground-breaking, genre-tweaking effort from visionary super-producer Dan "the Automator" Nakamura. Like his Handsome Boy Modeling School project a few years earlier, the Gorillaz brings together a diverse team of eclectic artists, including Del The Funky Homosapien, Damon Albarn, and Kid Koala. Highly original and very entertaining.