Plastic Beach reviewed

At first, Gorillaz was basically nothing more than an alternative band with the appeal of it being a cartoon band with Damon Alburn, the lead singer of Blur.  And don't get me wrong, the self-titled album is amazing but the short-life of such a band seems to pretty short.  However, that was not to be as they eventually released Demon Days which attempted to experiment and expand their sound with mixed success.  Then there was word of a Gorillaz movie with the soundtrack being the third album a couple years ago.  Here we are now, with no movie but a third album Plastic Beach.  But with a cast of characters and a cinematic sound that seems to be a soundtrack, one can only wonder what the movie would have been like.

Of course, the whole "story" behind the album is all explained on the website where Murdoc wanted to make another Gorillaz album.  That's going to be hard since Noodle has gone missing since the events of the "El Manana" video and 2D & Russell left the band.  So Murdoc just kidnaps and then drugs 2D, builds a cyborg Noodle and replace Russell with a drum machine.  Presumably, to cover up 2D's drug trips, Murdoc just got every musician he could to collaborate with.

Alright, that's enough theorizing and delving into a fake history, how's the music?  The music is pretty good throughout the whole album which is a marked improvement over the inconsistent Demon Days.  Damon Alburn skills have grown to make musical soundscapes that can subtly alter moods and can take the listener on a journey.  There isn't much rocking on this album since this album does use a lot of synths and orchestra's including an Arabic orchestra.  The collaborators that vary from Lou Reed to Snoop Dogg also step up their games and act more like characters in some movie instead of just mere singers and in fact there's more cameos and guests than the actual "band" so to speak.

Now with an album this consistent, the problem is that no songs actually rise above the pack and become memorable.  The only exception to this is the masterful "Stylo" which is already like a mini-movie with Mos Def and Bobby Womack.  But with songs this good, it's not a huge problem.  It's a great album but it would still make a very awesome soundtrack if a Gorillaz movie was ever to come to fruition.

8/10