“I’m on one per cent, but I’m there with you,” croons 2D on Gorillaz’ most enjoyable album since 2005’s Demon Days. It’s a sentiment that reflects the record’s commitment to finding collective fun in the face of isolating fatigue. Gorillaz have always been an apocalypse party of an act, but now, they’re laughing again. There’s a loose-limbed elation to the indie-funk grooves they find, with guests ranging from Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks to Australian psych-rockers Tame Impala and LA bass-bouncer Thundercat. And a sleepy solidarity in the more melancholy moments, which include a tender acoustic duet with Beck.
Britain’s first virtual band was created in 2001 by Damon Albarn and Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett in response to what the earnest indie purists saw as the “manufactured” state of chart music. But over the next two decades, the project has given the Blur frontman an excuse to dial up an eclectic “circus” cast of dream collaborators, throwing pop A-listers into the ring with rappers, experimental knob-twiddlers and vintage soul stars, and spicing the sound with world music to create a new genre of “backpacker hip-hop”.
