 |
|
 |
| • Discography • Lyrics • History • Archive • Links • Damon • Graham • Alex • Dave • Media • Random page |
Back to: Archive · 2001 Bad drawn boys From the NME, 20 October 2001. Review by Tony Naylor.  Venue: Manchester Academy. "Damon is the blackest man in west London," remarked Blur bassist Alex James recently. It was a bit snide and slightly wide of the mark - Gorillaz owe as much to Money Mark as King Tubby - but we all know what he means, don't we? Dilettante Damon has had his head turned at Carnival, his eyes opened in Mali, and suddenly he's all roots'n'street culture. A man for all seasons, a persona for all zeitgeists. Is he New Lad or lo-fi punk? Nick Hornby or Andy Kershaw? Who knows? And, therefore, why bother, when Femi Kuti, Wookie and Moodymann, to name but a few, are out there tirelessly refining their sound in the pursuit of deeply-mined emotions? It's not like Damon can't knock out a decent tune, either. At this ear-rattling volume, 'Clint Eastwood' is seismic (the contributions of rappers Phi-Life Cypher being the night's highlight), 'Punk' is fun, in a Blur B-side kinda way, and even '19-2000' is Deee-Litefully disposable. The rest of it, though, is Kinder Egg Massive Attack, dub-ious tunes and sketches like 'Rock The House'. The whole thing seems like half an idea run out of control. Maybe that's why the band spend all night, silhouetted, behind a big screen: because they're embarrassed. Certainly, the streams of Jamie Hewlett cartoons, pop art and CGIs don't make for eye-popping spectacle - partly for technical reasons, but mainly because we're not all graphic design geeks. There's plenty of titting about behind the screen, mind. Someone repeatedly shouts, "Have you got any crisps?"! A bloke moons! Damon talks in a daft voice that sounds like Sonia's grandad out of Eastenders! It's like being trapped in a lift with John Sessions. For all that, with six MTV Award nominations and a Spielberg film in the offing, and American sales rocketing, Gorillaz are a phenomenon. One that poses postmodern questions (do they play 'Clint Eastwood' twice in half an hour as a dig at blipvert culture, or because they haven't got enough material?) while fostering a remarkable synergy between computer games, music, Internet and TV. It's very 2001 and, as tonight's excitable coalition of pre-teens, students and retarded adolescents proves, potentially massive. None of which changes the fact that the tunes and the show are just so-so. As gimmicks go, Gorillaz aren't even a good one. Resist at all costs. |