A "Fictional" Debut With Charm: Gorillaz

GORILLAZ: SELF-TITLED

SCORE: 72/100 - 7.2

'Gorillaz' is more than just a gimmick or a one note joke - it's a full-fledged showcase of every style imaginable within just one record.

This is an album that I have so much history with - from listening to it on vinyl with my dad to listening to it with old friends, 'Gorillaz' really is the work of a group of artistic masterminds. From the aesthetic visual components of the album to the deep rooted grooves and varied production styles ranging from culture to culture, Gorillaz is the best "fictional" band to ever be conceptualized. 

For a debut album, this crams so many ideas together at once that it's impossible to believe that this was a first effort - but it makes so much sense realizing the background in music that both Damon Albarn and Del had prior to becoming members of Gorillaz. It manages to feel entirely timeless in the way it blends hip-hop from different cultures, different time signatures and beats, and genres like rock, rap, and dub together into one massive package.  

It's Blur without any of the geekiness, and instead this is replaced by an infused trip/hip hop style that does wonders for the compositions of the album. It's sharp and striking, and the changes that this album goes through within its 57-minute runtime will leave you constantly wondering and guessing as to what could be coming next.

The varied and unexampled styles that change and shift throughout the album made for hits in an album that sounds like it was meant exclusively for the most underground scenes imaginable - and it started a musical legacy that would become more iconic than the band ever could have bargained for. Gorillaz almost feel like a supergroup with Damon Albarn and Teren Delvon Jones (Del) working together exceptionally well, and it goes to show what bringing together a group of such raw talents can do for the personification of characters such as the ones displayed here. 

It's something much more than just another album - it's an artistic statement both musically and visually, with this album being ahead of its time even today and still managing to be entirely unrivaled. 

And despite some songs that are less memorable or less consistent in quality - the album flows together so well it's impossible to ignore. It's incredibly effective and intelligent without being too full of itself, and it manages to push the lines of abstract and mainstream to create one of the most diverse and unique albums of all time. 

'Gorillaz' manages to be wildly weird while still appealing to the masses, and the resulting album is a work of true artistry coming to life in each and every note.