Alrighty. Gorillaz has been releasing their Song Machine episodes from January of this year. The YouTube algorithm has been happy enough to start pushing them to me in summer, first seeing "PAC-MAN," a fun little surprise, and later "Pink Phantom," with quite the surprise guest.
But it's not an album right? It's a song machine? (I think we call them jukeboxes this side of the pond.) A lot of albums don't have a cohesive theme or message, but with a Machine there's not even a predilection to look for one. Maybe a cop-out, but it sends a signal—you're getting Gorillaz flavored songs with our best collaborators loosely tied. Tracks with Beck, St. Vincent, Robert Smith, Elton John capture their guests' style and panache. Tracks like the aforementioned "PAC-MAN" remind me of the mid '00s sound. And then it all closes on the catchy "Momentary Bliss," nothing short of an aggressive pep talk for these hard times.
Watching those videos in the summer, they didn't stick—"fun, but there's no 'Feel Good Inc.' or 'Clint Eastwood' here." They kept going though—pushing through strange times getting to "Strange Timez." So here I am in December listening to the whole thing over and over and then watching the videos and little interviews. Something about listening to the whole season has tipped the whole project into critical mass, and now I'm having a great time. Here's looking out for Season Two.
P.S. I've heard the canard that singing voices are always sound American/accentless, but clearly the British have another way.
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