gorillaz: gorillaz

BY JOSH DRIMMER

Supergroups don't have a good track record—does anyone actually remember the last Traveling Wilburys album? Cartoon bands are even worse—the Archies were pretty mediocre, and no one watched Josie and the Pussycats for the music. So even with producer Dan The Automator of Handsome Boy Modeling School and singer Damon Albarn of Blur behind the first ever cartoon/supergroup, Gorillaz, the possibilities for this self-titled debut were not so good, even with a cool website and cover by Jamie Hewlett of Tank Girl fame. Furthermore, the Gorillaz had the audacity to make a huge concept out of themselves, claiming to be a new breed of pop stars ("They're so prefabricated, they aren't even real people!") and performing concerts from behind animated projections. But putting aside the characters and the concept, Gorillaz is a fun, eclectic, even innovative record. Imagine that.

With members of Blur, Tom Tom Club, and the Buena Vista Social Club, plus two songs with emcee Del the Funkee Homosapien among the voices behind the cartoons, Gorillaz, needless to say, doesn't stick to one style for long. With everything from straight rock ("Punk") to reggae dub (first single "Clint Eastwood") to Latin rock ("Latin Simone"), it's one of the most stylistically diverse records since, well, Handsome Boy Modeling School's So...How's Your Girl?.

With the exception of an overlong jam (the meandering "Double Bass"), all the styles work. The Automator shows few signs of slowing the hot streak he started with the first Dr. Octagon record and, minus one wicked instrumental ("Left Hand Suzuki Method"), even seems to have left behind his tendency to oversample classical music. Instead, Dan is digging into blues ("Tomorrow Comes Today"), Nintendo blips (the mighty funky "19-2000") and classic old school loops ("Rock The House," Del's finest moment on the record).

If the cartoon characters have any significance on this record (and they probably don't), it may be simply that without their real faces and band names on the album cover, the artists assembled here have the freedom to go where they haven't before. Damon Albarn doing a dance song? It happens on the sped-up remix of "Clint Eastwood," easily one of the best singles of the summer. Ibrahim Ferrer singing over a hip-hop beat? Check out "Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)." Meanwhile, Tina Weymouth of the Tom Tom Club is contributing to the funkiest stuff she's been near since "Genius of Love," and Dan The Automator is halfway to being a rock star.

Blur will never be as huge in the U.S. as in the U.K., where Albarn is a golden god and Gorillaz is Top-40 material, but for those who haven't heard much of Albarn, this album is an excellent introduction to his pleasingly raspy voice. Like peanut butter and bananas, Dan The Automator's varied tracks and Albarn's vocals are a surprisingly good combination.

Sure, 71 minutes is too long for almost any album, the group's musical schizophrenia can be a bit too much in one sitting, and sequencing that puts sunshiny "Re-Hash" next to the much darker "5/4" might need some work, but for those who don't mind a bit of indie rock with their hip-hop, or a reggae tinge to their Latin sound, Gorillaz is a genre-bender that is actually fun to listen to. They might not be as aesthetically pleasing as Josie and her gang, or as famous as the Wilburys, but it is safe to say Gorillaz are the greatest cartoon/supergroup ever. Even counting the somewhat human members of *NSYNC. (Virgin)

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