It's tempting to judge
Gorillaz --
Damon Albarn, Tank Girl creator
Jamie Hewlett, and
Dan "The Automator" Nakamura's virtual band -- just by their brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of style over substance. Admittedly,
Hewlett's edgy-cute characterizations of 2-D,
Gorillaz' pretty boy singer (who looks a cross between
the Charlatans'
Tim Burgess and Sonic the Hedgehog), sinister bassist Murdoc, whiz-kid guitarist Noodle, and b-boy drummer Russel are so arresting that they almost detract from
Gorillaz' music. The amazing "Thriller"-meets-Planet of the Apes clip for "Clint Eastwood" is so visually clever that it's easy to take the song's equally clever, hip-hop-tinged update of
the Specials' "Ghost Town" for granted. And initially,
Gorillaz' self-titled debut feels incomplete when
Hewlett's imagery is removed; the concept of
Gorillaz as a virtual band doesn't hold up as well when you can't see the virtual bandmembers. It's too bad that there isn't a DVD version of
Gorillaz, with videos for every song, à la the DVD version of
Super Furry Animals' Rings Around the World. Musically, however,
Gorillaz is a cutely caricatured blend of
Albarn's eclectic Brit-pop and
Nakamura's equally wide-ranging hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the band looks.
Albarn has fun sending up
Blur's cheeky pop on songs like "5/4" and "Re-Hash," their trip-hop experiments on "New Genious" and "Sound Check," and "Song 2"-like thrash-pop on "Punk" and "M1 A1." Despite the similarities between
Albarn's main gig and his contributions here,
Gorillaz isn't an
Albarn solo album in disguise;
Nakamura's bass- and beat-oriented production gives the album an authentically dub and hip-hop-inspired feel, particularly on "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today." Likewise,
Del tha Funkee Homosapien,
Miho Hatori, and
Ibrahim Ferrer's vocals ensure that it sounds like a diverse collaboration rather than an insular side project. Instead, it feels like a musical vacation for all parties involved -- a little self-indulgent, but filled with enough fun ideas and good songs to make this virtual band's debut a genuinely enjoyable album. ~ Heather Phares