Release Date: 24 May, 2005
Audio CD
Tracks
- Intro
- Last Living Souls
- Kids With Guns
- O Green World
- Dirty Harry
- Feel Good Inc.
- El Manana
- Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
- November Has Come
- All Alone
- White Light
- DARE
- Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey's Head
- Don't Get Lost in Heaven
- Demon Days
|
Rating 4.0
Demon Days gives more evidence that Damon Alburn is a geniusFor me, this cd was a letdown waiting to happen. The original Gorillaz cd, while not a 100% great, had 3 or 4 songs that were so good it made the entire cd seem good. With Gorillaz producer Nakamura gone, and DJ Danger Mouse in, Demon Days provides a cd with much more consistancy. A few tracks easily stand out as winners with just a listen (Feel Good Inc., Every Planet We Come to is Dead, and November Has Come), while others may take some time to get into (mainly the last three tracks of the cd, Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head, Don't Get Lost in Heaven, and Demon Days). Dennis Hopper provides a narration to the Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head that creates one of the most crazy songs in years. Feel Good Inc. as the first single provide instant comparisons to Clint Eastwood, but unfortunately, can't match that song's greatness. However, unlike the first cd's numerous bombs (such as Gravity, M1A1, Punk, Clapper, 5/4... basically everything but Clint Eastwood, Latin Simone, Tomorrow Comes Today and depending on one's mood, 19-2000, Slow Country or Starshine). The only real bomb on this cd is White Light. A surprise song is DARE, a catchy song which Gwen Stefani wishes she could make... or at least have made for her to sing. With this side-group, Damon Alburn continues to attempt any pop labels he might have gotten with early Blur albums. Though his constant changing of styles may anger some guitarists, he proves to be a man with great musical talents.Admirer!I have never been interested in Gorillaz because I didn't think they produced very good music and that it would be a waste of time to even try any of their C.Ds out! But i am now reconsidering as their new album has a lot of interesting and unique songs. I am enjoying the album so much that i already have four or five favourites and i haven't even finished listening to the album yet! My mum bought the album after listening to their brilliant single, 'Feel Good Inc.' She also bought the Coldplay album as she thinks they are great and record brilliant songs, but feeling that the Coldplay album was a complete disappointment, she is growing much closer to the Gorillaz, even though she is a 42 year old mother who does not like or approve of rap or would never even think about listening to the Gorillaz- but they proved me and my mum wrong! I think that this album deserves 4 stars,as their are only two or three dud songs. VERY pleased!New SoundLet me preface this by saying that not many albums deserve 5 stars, in my opinion. That said, this is a very good album. I think the first Gorillaz album was very overrated. It had a lot of mediocre rapping, it was inconsistent, and there weren't too many catchy songs.
For the most part, "Demon Days" succeeds where the first Gorillaz album failed. There's a consistent, brooding vibe to the album that becomes more prominent with repeated listens. Even underneath the most catchy songs, it's there. What's great about "Demon Days" is that much of it sounds like party music, but there's a more cerebral element that makes it interesting to listen to more closely. The sound is a unique mix of dub and 80's electro, but it's twisted just enough to make it seem refreshing and new. Comparisons to the Clash are accurate only in the sense that Gorillaz combines a lot of disparate sounds into a new whole-- it doesn't really sound like the Clash.
There are only a couple of flaws. There's still some mediocre rapping that harms a couple of otherwise great songs (although thankfully less than the first album). I like hip hop, but it just doesn't fit with this sound. Danger Mouse's production far surpasses the Automator's but he over-does it in a couple of songs. The first few songs are more stripped down, basic rhythms and they sound better than a few of the overproduced songs towards the end. But this is a minor complaint overall. |
|
