Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

Gorillaz

HumanzParlophone/Warner

★★★

BY BARRY DIVOLA

Well, at least Donald Trump’s

presidency is good for some-

thing. Namely, giving song-

writers something solid to kick

against. And with the latest al-

bums from Father John Misty

andDepecheMode,we’restart-

ing to see artists’ reactions to

the new world order.

Add Damon Albarn to that

list, although he’s not kick-

ingsomuchastripping.On

thefirstalbuminhalfadozen

yearsfromGorillaz,theani-

mated band he created with art-

istJamieHewlettin1998,he’s

asking what’s going on – in fact,

he’s going for aWhat’s Going On

vibe,takingcuesfromMarvin

Gaye’s 1971 album by sashaying

into the apocalypse on an atmo-

spheric dancefloor vibe.

He’salsolessofapresenceat

the microphone, but two mel-

ancholy tracks he dominates

(“Andromeda” and “Busted and

Blue”) are highlights. Instead he

cedesthespotlightto24guest

singers and rappers. And the

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Reviews

“Heard the world is ending soon

I assumed that they told ya

They tryin’ ta dinosaur us

So now it’s time to go up”

—Gorillaz, “Ascension”

Gorillaz’

Songs for

the End

of the

Wo rl d

The apocalypse is nigh,

and the reactivated

Gorillaz will help us

dance until the end