Gorillaz returned with some underwhelming moments with ‘Humnaz’ and ‘The Now Now’ which shocked a lot of us, however you could still find some of the class Damon Albarn possess and know he has within those two records. Though it seems like Damon has really brought it all back to something of a more humble and minimal approach for the first season of ‘Song Machine’ called ‘Strange Timez. The result of the standard edition (there is a deluxe with an 5 extra meh tracks) is the projects strongest work in a decade that puts the visual project back, to being one of the strongest outfits around. The tone of the LP and messages within the lyrics can really define 2020 at points, something that could help it being put up against their strongest work, also being a record to eventually listen back to when thinking about this awful year.
The opening track shares the same name as the LP, which features the iconic Robert Smith of The Streets. Smith sounds so good with the manic sounds behind him that creates such a crazy and turbulent atmosphere, an amazing way to start such a record. The lyrical content is very much in real time, talking about isolation in lockdown and then events with leaders like in Belarus. The song gives you that release with such a great sing along and the coming tother of all the loose instrumentation, it really captures the mood of such a strange time in history. Beck features awesomely in ‘The Valley of Pagans’ that shoots down the fads we find online and the celebrity/influencer crazed society we all find ourselves in. Musically the song has an infectious bass line and is a great disco number that makes you spin around the dance floor, while laughing away at the stupidity of some folks. It’s simply such a lot of fun and hilarious vocal delivers of ‘living in the valley’ and ‘welcome to the land of the permanent sun, where the flowers are melted and the future is fun’ just makes this song stand out on the record.
British soul singer, Leee John, sounds very swarv on the glimmering R’n’B number, ‘The Lost Chord’. Again there is another bass line that is very strong, however I do find the song rests on the main hook too much and becomes repetitive. Then on ‘Pac-Man (feat. ScHoolboy) the beat sounds instantly Gorillaz and the whole tone feels very fitting of the title name, overall a great sense of nostalgia of the game and the band. ScHoolboy sounds great on the track and contributes well with his spits about comparing real life to video games, all very feeling like it understands how we all think currently with our existence.
The variety of the features does make each song feel different, it’s a real stand out aspect of ‘Strange Timez’ and having St Vincent make her mark on the LP, is a great feature to have. Musically on the song ‘Chalk Tablet Towers’ you can hear her impact on the melody and synths, however her vocals does get lost within the mix….it may be done on purpose because despite that it still impacts the colourful nature of the song.
The way Damon Albarn brought Sir Elton John and 6LACK together on the following song, is admirable and impressive on ‘The Pink Phantom’, very fitting name I think too. The sophisticated nature of this melancholy song makes the idea of having them two together feel even more unlikely, yet it works beautifully and both artists make their mark on the song so well. What is also amazing is the lyrical choices for Elton, ‘diaaaaammoounnndssss’ and amongst other words bring out his vocal style with such style and joy. Such a mood comes along on the Joy Division like ‘Aries’ and does include some great bass playing (and very typical sounding) by the ex member, Peter Hook. Albarn and Georgia produced the song to such a tee that it’s a great nod to the bassists past.
‘Friday 13th (feat. Octavian)’ carries on the lower mood of this part of the album, with some lovely touches of instrumentation. The gentle keys within the med section is a nice touch and the guitar that flows along in the song, sounds wonderful. Overall this song just feel like a great relaxing moment of the record that really resonated with me with it’s tone, just very much needed in these timez. Sadly the first blip arrives next on the LP with ‘Dead Butterflies’; it begins with a very typical 2-D vocal opening and eventually the beat arrives, not doing much after that. Kano and Roxani Arias feature on the sing and sound very solid on it, especially the later, however they do not save the plodding nature of the track.
The extended version of ‘Desole (feat. Fatoumata Diawara)’ brings us back to an impressive standard, which surprised me as the first cut we heard of this song did not impress me. Having the song extended on the album really gives the song life, the long intro welcomes us into the bosa-nova number and is more of a delight this time around, with the singer sounding so amazing too.
Another highlight of ‘Strange Timez’ comes along and was the first single from it, ‘Momentary Bliss feat (Slowthia and Slaves). The very British blend of all three artists does really take the punk elements to great heights, the features complimenting each other so well. The delivery Slowthia is restraint but still filled with his angst, while the Slaves guitar sounds drives the song nicely. ‘Momentary Bliss’ is awesome and a great punk meets psychedelic song that a lot of people have and will enjoy.
‘Strange Timez’ has a very tempting deluxe version, it offers an extra 5 tracks, so ‘Opium feat. EARTHGANG’ finishes the standard edition of the album. It is a very good finish as its so dramatic and ends up going to a lot of places, both artists really complimenting each other so well. The ending of the song finishes with a gentle piano, that leaves us so beautifully and for me, is where I finish the album. The extra tracks do not do much for me, they are cool and interesting as the features are noteworthy but ‘Strange Timez’ quality ends after 12 tracks.
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