Gorillaz - "Song Machine, Season 1 - Strange Timez" (2020)

Gorillaz were one of my first musical loves, with the singles from Demon Days and their respective videos imprinted in my brain from my childhood. And as I've grown up I've only grown to love them more, as I started to understand how creative and daring the project is, with the format allowing Damon Albarn to not be confined by genre boundaries and conventions. That being said, the cartoon band's post hiatus work so far has been rather mixed, lacking (for the most part) the colour and life that permeated the group's first 3 albums. Song Machine fixes that by effectively being a series of standalone singles (and videos), completely disconnected from each other - allowing each track to be entirely its own thing. This makes each song on the record feel as colourful and unique as possible, without Albarn having to worry about the overall theme or atmosphere of the entire record. Plus some of these tracks are phenomenal.

The opening track, Strange Timez, launches us into the record with eerie, sporadic keys and The Cure's Robert Smith twisting and eccentric vocal hook, before 2D's dreamy and dejected vocals lamenting the state of the world take over for the verses. The track slowly unravels into an alt-dance groove. The track is spooky and dark, yet colourful and catchy - just like the best Gorillaz tracks. Much of the record follows in the title track's footsteps, being the best Gorillaz tracks of the revival and some up there with the classics. The following track, The Valley of The Pagans, featuring Beck, is a fun new wave romp about internet / celeb hedonism. It's super slick, groovey and colourful. Beck sells the persona of a super arrogant celebrity so well on the song. Pac-Man is funky with really video-gamey synth tones, and features a fantastic multipart verse from Schoolboy Q to close out the track. The closing track of the standard edition, Momentary Bliss, is a homage to British ska and punk, but with the trademark cartoony synths that Gorillaz are know for. Both the punk due Slaves and the rapper Slowthai also kill it on this track.

The tracks Aries and Desole are the pinnacle of the record and by far my two favourite songs of the year. Aries features drumming from UK artist Georgia and basswork from (formally) New Order's Peter Hook. The song is pure New Order worship, but the track is amazing. It is such a good New Order song that it's better than a lot of what New Order have put out, and their 80s track record is pretty great. Peter Hook's bass, 2D's dreamy and wistful vocals, and the thin ethereal synth lines; it's all there. Desole fetures elements of African Wassoulou music, with Fatoumata Diawara's beautiful lead vocals and the  dreamy Afrobeat groove. It's emotional and intense, yet restrained and full of longing.

Even the weaker tracks on the record are still fairly decent, and have elements to them I really like. The Pink Phantom has grown on me a lot since it was released as a single. It's a completely over the top and melodramatic piano balled featuring Elton John hamming it up on the vocals. On initial listens, the inclusion of the monotone, autotuned rapping from 6lack completely bewildered me; but now while I don't think it adds to the track, I don't really think it detracts from it either. Friday 13th has this really nice dreamy synth pop meets dub instrumental, although Octavian's feature is easily the least charismatic on the record and I really wish someone more colourful provided the vocals. The Lost Chord and Chalk Tablet Towers have some really good atmosphere to them (both being quite R&B infused tunes), but just lack an extra element to make them stand up against the best of the record.

I've also got to mention the Dulux Edition tracks, because they're all generally good or great. Particularly the 7 minute dance banger, Opium. The track infuses alt-dance with acid jazz and Latin music and just keeps going trough these manic, chaotic phases. Simplicity is a much more strip backed chill Latin song, and MLS is colourful and fun with really charismatic rapping from JPEGMAFIA. The closing track, How Far?, is also really good, being this sinister and carnival sounding song featuring drumming from the late Tony Allen and an angry and bitter vocal performance from Skepta.

Strange Timez is such a great return to form for Gorillaz, and while it doesn't quite reach the consistent brilliance of Demon Days and Plastic Beach due to its lack of consistent theme and atmosphere, it is undeniable that the change in format has resulted in a such a more creative and quality release than the likes of Humanz and The Now Now. It's one of  my favourite records this year.

Top Tracks: Strange Timez, The Valley of The Pagans, Pac-Man, Aries, Desole, Momentary Bliss, Opium, Simplicity, How Far?

8/10

Fontaines D.C. - "A Hero's Death" (2020)

I was turned onto Fontaines D.C. by my dad just before the release of this record, saying they sounded somewhere between Joy Division and Arctic Monkeys. And their debut very much fit that description, a moody but breakneck selection of straight to the point post-punk songs. A Hero's Death, on the other hand, delves deeper into the slower, darker and more intense side of post-punk. Keeping with the Joy Division comparisons, its very much more Closer than Unknown Pleasures. The songs are slower and more drawn out, being slow burns that let you sink into the atmospheric bass grooves and Grian Chatten's repetitive, mantra-esque lyrics.

Lyrically, the album starts sad and stays there for its 46 minute runtime. Focusing on the complete social and political disenfranchisement that can lead to the feelings of depression and emptiness. These tracks are so desolate and defeated that even the repeated mantras that Chatten sings sound almost half hearted like he doesn't even really believe them. "Love is the main thing" he repeatedly sings on the second track, but it doesn't sound like he feels any love, it sounds like him clinging to the idea of love to give life some meaning and purpose. It's bleak stuff.

The album also hits the post-punk sweet spot musically, opening with the foggy and slow duo of I Don't Belong and Love Is The Main Thing. The gnarled but restrained rhythm sections sound near enough gothic, interlocking with the twangy but low in the mix lead guitar. These tracks sound like a wet and cold November evening. Especially Love Is The Main Thing with its vibrato effected guitar and references to rain in the lyrics. Televised Mind picks up the tempo for the first time in the record, as everything becomes heavier and the vocal delivery more twisted and cynical. The pummelling bass sounds like some rage filled late night drive, with a whining lead guitar solo just to add to the intensity. A Lucid Dream sounds exactly like its title suggests, a delusional nightmare that's completely disorienting. The back half just descends into noisy madness.

The only time the record tries to dig itself out of the depths is on the title track, a song built around a slightly less bitter and sad guitar line and "ooh ooh" backing vocals, where Chatten repeats the mantra of "Life ain't always empty" over, and lists off ways to make yourself feel happier and more fulfilled in life. It's the kind of track that could come of cringy and overly sentimental, but the band pull it off very well. I Was Not Born is also more uptempo, but its more of an angry anti-capitalist anthem than a 'things can get better' song. The Closer, No, is also a real gem. It's a slow, drawn out ballad that's tinged with hope, but ultimately gets bogged back down in despair, which is a perfect representation of the album as a whole, and the view of life it's trying to present. It is darkly bittersweet.

A Hero's Death is a really solid post-punk record. It just does everything a record like this should to a T. Some might feel that this makes it an inferior imitation of the classics, but for me it just hits the right buttons just like they do. It's another record to add to the list of what to listen to when I'm in the mood for depressing post-punk.

Top Tracks: I Don't Belong, Love Is The Main Thing, Televised Mind, A Lucid Dream, A Hero's Death, No

8/10