Song Machine Season One — Home

Since the dawn of the millennium, the electropop band Gorillaz has captivated audiences around the world all while setting the newest trends in the industry. Co-founder and lead singer David Albarn can largely be credited for a lot of the group’s successes, as his creativity and impressive lyricism have helped differentiate the brand and established its instantly-recognizable quality. Some of the band’s earlier albums are some of my favorites, such as Demon Days and Plastic Beach, which will forever hold permanent places in my library. Gorillaz’ two most recent releases, however, Humanz and The Now Now, left me disappointed in the direction the group was heading. Luckily, with the release of Song Machine: Season One: Strange Timez, my faith in the band has been completely restored as they now only recapture the magical sound which I loved, but used unconventional features and stellar production to mature their sound in ways I never thought possible. This is an excellent album.

The album’s opening and title track “Strange Timez (feat. Robert Smith)” is a perfect example of how an atypical feature can be used to perfectly match a band’s aesthetic in fresh, creative ways. The Cure’s lead singer and very recognizable voice lay the foundation for this project while criticizing aspects of the world we live in and getting things off to a great start. “The Valley of The Pagans (feat. Beck)” also uses its feature extraordinarily well, which surprised me, as I have found Beck’s most recent releases and features somewhat lackluster, but not here. “The Last Chord (feat. Leee John)” is a less futuristic cut that still impressed me and reminded me very much of the band’s early work. “Pac-Man (feat. ScHoolboy Q)” is one of my favorite songs from the Gorillaz discography, which says a lot considering that the band gave us “Feel Good Inc.” and “Clint Eastwood.” This track effortlessly checks all of the boxes for the quintessential Gorillaz track, such as 2-D’s whispery vocals, a clean instrumental, and a grimy rap feature with more introspection than expected. So far, so good.

“Chalk Tablet Towers (feat. St Vincent)” is another solid track, but I find that it lacks some of the structural complexity that makes the rest of the songs on this album so compelling. It’s a bit of a one-note that doesn’t take away or add much from the rest of the project. “The Pink Phantom (feat. Elton John and 6LACK)” is a wonderfully produced track that delivers more of an emotional and substantive punch. This combination of features perplexed me at first, but if it were to work (which it absolutely does), it would be on a Gorillaz album. The contrast provided between Elton John’s whimsical and dramatic vocals and 6LACK’s autotuned rap delivery just works on this song. “Aries (feat. Peter Hook and Georgia)” understandably borrows heavily from New Order’s aesthetic, which I don’t have a problem with, since the feature is used so appropriately in the tracklisting. “Friday 13th (feat. Octavian)” is another calm, less futuristic cut that uses its feature well. Heading into its closing tracks, this album hardly misses a beat.

“Dead Butterflies (feat. Kano and Roxani Arias)” is one of 2-D’s best vocal performances on the album, using introspective lyricism. The production here is very hip-hop-inspired with competing snares and kickdrums which contrast nicely with a gentler vocal delivery. “Désolé (feat. Fatoumata Diawara)” is another upbeat highlight with smooth guitar backing that gets stuck in my head very easily. The track’s closing minute reaches a beautiful crescendo of strings and vocals that set up the final track beautifully. “Momentary Bliss (feat. slowthai & Slaves)” features a loud, punk vocal performance from Slowthai who always makes his presence known on tracks. This is the perfect closing track for such a concise, well put together album.

Besides just a couple of dull moments in the tracklisting, this newest Gorillaz album is sharp, to the point, and so catchy it’s ridiculous. I’m so glad that Damon Albarn has returned to the sound I’ve grown so fond of from the band over the years. This is one of the group’s best projects in a long, long time, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. In the meantime, though, it’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, one of my favorite albums of the year, on repeat.

Favorite tracks: “Strange Timez (feat. Robert Smith)”, “The Valley of The Pagans (feat. Beck”), “The Lost Chord (feat. Leee John)”, “Pac-Man (feat. ScHoolboy Q)”, “The Pink Phantom (feat. Elton John and 6LACK)”, “Aries (feat. Peter Hook & Georgia)”, “Dead Butterflies (feat. Kano & Roxani Arias)”, “Désolé (feat. Fatoumata Diawara)”, “Momentary Bliss (feat. slowthai & Slaves)

SCORE: 9/10