Calliope Music Review of the Week
Gorillaz - Cracker Island
Animated Pop Group, Gorillaz Come Into 2023 with a Tight List of Bright Synthpop Songs and Social Critiques.
Electropop beats and guest features bolster topics of desire in a technological world, cult fascination, and parasocial behavior. Concise songwriting makes up for uneven features, but doesn't make up for the overall dull structure of the 40 minute LP.
Gorillaz and their creator Damon Albarn get back to basics with this ten track album. Funk-inspired dance beats and buzzy synth act as the canvas for Albarn's songwriting. Each track runs about four minutes long and follows a simple verse chorus, verse chorus blueprint. Albarn employs a straightforward method of storytelling to simultaneously comment on concerning social trends and the virtual band's lore itself.
The album begins especially strong with the title track. Guest feature, Thundercat brings an elastic bass groove and his signature falsetto for a fun and energetic chorus. This track also sees one of the more developed lyrical ideas, as Albarn touches on occultism and fandom culture. Cracker Island serves as a metaphor for the mental state of those involving themselves with esoteric beliefs and dangerously seductive cults, as well as obsessive fans of public figures. In the Gorillaz virtual story, lead singer 2D falls in love with someone of the "Forever Cult," which is located on Cracker Island. The name "Cracker" is used to explain the fragility of such all-consuming situations and obsessive behavior, as these cults and parasocial relationships often violently collapse into pieces, as does 2D's unhealthy infatuation with his manipulative lover.
Gorillaz does not stray far away from a simple synthpop sound after the first track, but offers a few variations. The second track, 'Oil' features a dark, but soothing melody from Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks. The third song, 'The Tired Influencer' continues to point out the negative impacts of parasocial relationships in a more virtually integrated world. Lastly, Puerto Rican rapper, Bad Bunny joins Gorillaz on a tropical Reggaeton instrumental on the song 'Tormenta.'
Despite all of these big names and quite clean production, the album shows a weakness in its overall sonic direction. Simply put, there is a blandness to this LP. Plain synth jabs and keyboard progressions on top of undecorated drum kits leave much creativity to be desired. While most of the tracks are still rather enjoyable, Gorillaz leaves a soft impression on Cracker Island, especially compared to what they have been able to do in the past.
Best Tracks: Cracker Island (feat. Thundercat) -- Silent Running (feat. Adeleye Omotayo)
5.5/10
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