Damon Albarn isn’t a man who likes to stand still and churn out more of the same…..
…..he’s a restless, inquisitive and ultimately creative soul who seeks the new and interesting in projects he gets involved in, or puts his name to. It’s served him well through his career and is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Be it the changing sounding of Blur through the years, his work with a diverse and wonderful set of musicians on The Good, The Bad and The Queen as well as Rocket Juice & The Moon, or his solo career, soundtracks, operas and ballets, his random appearances on a huge range of artists albums, or his forays into world music with Africa Express etc, few artists have ever existed that have taken you on such an eclectic pathway.
While Albarn is clearly comfortable working on his own and has done so on several projects, being in the studio with others is something he clearly thrives on. As Gorillaz grew from its early origins as a cartoon band trying to keep his involvement secret (that lasted until the first few bars of the debut single hit the radio) collaborations have always been at the forefront of Gorillaz. This album has as many as I can ever remember them having, with multiple artists on each track.
Ultimately, the origin of the band is a collaboration, between the musical side from Albarn and the brilliant cartoons and animations of Jamie Hewlett, so how it’s developed over the years is not a surprise. It’s great to see that their friendship has been patched up, with the result being a 9th studio album released on the 27th February and an 8 minute film being produced by Hewlett to accompany it, made in the old school way of drawing and painting each single cell to animate it.
‘The Mountain’ has risen out of grief, with both Albarn and Hewlett losing their fathers respectively in a very short space of time and finding spiritual comfort on their travels to India. While there are moments of melancholy punctuating the album, it ultimately plays through as an immersive paean to the country that inspired it with genuine warmth.
This is aided by legendary and contemporary Indian stars such as Anoushka Shankar, Ajay Prasanna and Asha Bhosle, who pepper the album. From the opening almost instrumental (aside from a spoken word outro featuring Dennis Hopper) title track that ushers you in with a calming swoon of Indian instruments to the closing strains of ‘The Sad God’ that finishes the album, they feature heavily throughout and are allowed the space to flourish in the tracks. These aren’t small cameos to give a nod to India; they’re front and centre in the sound.
Not for the first time with Gorillaz, Albarn isn’t afraid to use Latin American talent either as he did successfully with Bad Bunny on ‘Tormenta’ from the band’s last album ‘Cracker Island’.
On first listen live at The Copperbox, London in September last year when hearing the album played in full, the 7 minutes of ‘The Manifesto’ seemed slightly out of place to me. Listening to the album a couple of times this week though, it’s clear it works and is the centrepiece in many ways, with it feeling like a song with three sections to it that somehow hang together. Argentinian rapper Trueno is the star of it, a role he’ll likely reprise live when the band play Leeds Arena on the 25th March. He’s been named as the tour support.
Elsewhere, there are household names aplenty that feature, with Johnny Marr, Jalen N’Gonda, Black Thought, Gruff Rhys, Sparks, Omar Souleyman, Yasiin Bey, Kara Jackson and Idles – and that probably isn’t an exhaustive list. There are some sentimental posthumous appearances from Tony Allen and Bobby Womack who Albarn has worked with previously and a typically bombastic Mark E Smith on ‘Delirium’.
Despite all those disparate parts coming together, Albarn has in his mercurial way galvanised The Mountain in to a wonderfully cohesive(albeit long) listen that feels like it’s leading you through a story and on a journey through the region, marrying guest appearances that infuse tracks to sparkle with a richness and warmth on songs like ‘The Hardest Thing/Orange County’ that are him at his absolute best.
As I mentioned earlier Albarn likes to challenge himself and in turn that challenges the listener. This album really won’t be for everyone. If they expect ‘Dare’ pt II or a track like ‘Feel Good Inc’ to be repeated, I can imagine some disappointment, but multiple plays will really reward you and I wouldn’t bet against people in years to come putting this album right up there as the Gorillaz greatest triumph. Time will tell on that, but for now, sit back, have an open mind and let the album wash over you and take you on that journey with Albarn and co.
Gorillaz – The Mountain Tour – UK & Ireland
Tickets & Dates at Gorillaz.com
21 March – MANCHESTER, Co-op Live
22 March – BIRMINGHAM, bp pulse LIVE
24 March – GLASGOW, OVO Hydro* – SOLD OUT!
25 March – LEEDS, First Direct Arena*
27 March – CARDIFF, Utilita Arena* – SOLD OUT!
28 March – NOTTINGHAM, Motorpoint Arena*
29 March – LIVERPOOL, M&S Bank Arena*
31 March – BELFAST, SSE Arena* – SOLD OUT!
01 April – DUBLIN, 3Arena* – SOLD OUT!
20 June – LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium*
*with support from Sparks and Trueno.
