Gorillaz Plastic Beach

Those music fans that have frequently viewed Gorillaz asa novelty act and not technically a real `band,` perhaps saw thefabricated connotations implied by the figure of their new album, Plastic Beach,and viewed it as some form of proof of their parochial judgment,deciding to steer clear of the animated group`s latest record entirely.That eccentric of misguided decision would ultimately be a mistake, though,as Plastic Beach

, despite a somewhat rocky start, blendstogether quite nicely, presenting the hearer with a robust and nuancedmusical palette, as well as a lively experimentation with both sound andstyle. It`s a loosely conceptual album, hinting at the harmful andindignant ways of man as good as the artificial nature of modernliving-while also coming to us from a fictional island composed entirelyout of trash. If that all seems a bit heavy-handed to you, the musicitself is all rather lush and lighthearted, with some ominous undertonesthreaded throughout that never weighs the buoyant songs down.The `Orchestral Intro` sets a relaxed tone to the album that isultimately broken by the West Coast flow of Snoop Dogg, whose presenceis more peculiar than effectual, adding some simplistic, recycled rhymesover `Welcome To The Creation Of The Plastic Beach.` The beats are fresh,even if the rhymes are not, a trend which carries over to `White Flag,`with Kano and Bashy infusing the merry song with some rather cornylines. The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Musicprovides a lovely arrangement for both the introduction and coda of the song,making me like the trail was treated as an instrumental. Damon Albarnfinally assumes lead vocals on the gorgeously relaxed `Rhinestone Eyes,`which eventually gives way to the `Clint Eastwood`-like future-funk ofthe synth laden chorus. Gorillaz handled the product of this recordin-house for the start time (with Albarn overseeing most of it himself),and spell it contains elements of the scene-sampling spirit of theirfirst two albums, Plastic Beach proves to be surprisinglyinnovative and wider-ranging in its influences, boldly sampling a vastreservoir of musical styles and continuing the album`s theme of turningcast-off leftovers into something totally new and reusable.