 |
|
 |
| • News • Discography • Lyrics • History • Archive • Links • Damon • Graham • Alex • Dave • Media • About   |
Back to: Archive · 2005 Planet of the apes "Demon Days" review. From Q, June 2005. Review by Gareth Grundy. This summer marks the 10th anniversary of Britpop's high-water mark, the chart "duel" between Blur's Country House and Oasis' Roll With It that dominated the news and turned its protagonists into tabloid cartoons. This didn't bother Oasis much. However, Blur were mortified. So hacked off that they've spent the time since evading both photographers and definition as their music shifted further into left-field until Damon Albarn thought, "Hang on, if a cartoon's what they want..." Devised in 2000 by Albarn and Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz were the first illustrated band since The Archies had a hit in 1969 with Sugar Sugar. Officially their members are skinny spiv 2D, bad boy Murdoc, giant rapper Russel and a Japanese prodigy called Noodle. In reality it works like this: Albarn and assorted collaborators take care of the tunes while Hewlett does the drawings. Despite much snickering, not least from Albarn's colleagues, Gorillaz' self-titled debut was a huge success, the knock-kneed, punky hip hop of hit singles Clint Eastwood and Tomorrow Comes Today vindicating their author's increased interest in all things urban and electronic. Demon Days marks a further leap forward, with Albarn not only displaying a mastery of his new tools - the last album was a touch rudimentary - but employing a fresh and superior roster of hired help. His masterstroke was replacing producer Dan Nakamura with Danger Mouse, the DJ best known for 2004's landmark Grey Album, which fused the vocals from Jay-Z's Black Album with the music from The Beatles' White Album and was a hit all over the internet. In short, he's the 21st-century DJ Shadow, and it's his stunning flourishes, such as The Wall-style children's choir on recent free download Dirty Harry, that help place Demon Days notches above any vaguely electronic release in recent memory. Other pleasant surprises include Roots Manuva on raps (All Alone) and the return of the Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder on charismatic mumbling (DARE). Far more substantial than the average side project, Demon Days is also about more than Damon Albarn's exceptional skills as a collaborator. Like many people who've had children and spent some time in the developing world, as he's done since 2002's Mali Music project, he's a bit worried about the future. Not that he's turned into some kind of hippy. Or Sting. Worried that the post-9/11 planet is going to hell, and especially upset that some young people are handy with a firearm, he comes off like an apocalyptic Jamie Oliver. It's rather touching and most effective on gentle nursery rhyme Kids With Guns, with its disconcertingly lovely "they're turning us into monsters" refrain. Only Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey's Head, a trite eco-parable read by wizened Hollywood pyscho Dennis Hopper, is a bit much. Oh, and Demon Days is stuffed with tunes. In a way, this is only what Damon Albarn's been doing ever since Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish back in 1993: make big statements that you can whistle. It's just that, as his worldview has expanded, so has the scope of his art. Apparently, work on a new Blur album will begin shortly. On this form, bring it on, although The Other Two might want to learn how to use a sampler... Rating: 4 out of 5. |