Get To Know H.E.R.

Every so often comes a group that hits you with a sound that feels so innovative and so fresh that it makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about music. These groups are able to combine and in a sense blur the separations between genres until a whole new monster is formed. And damn it if this whole new monster doesn’t sound great. The Gorillaz is a band that, in my eyes, is the very epitome of this.

Depending on who you ask, the Gorillaz have anywhere between 2 and 100 or more members. This confusion of course stems from the fact that it is a virtual band, comprised of Murdoc, 2D, Russell, and Noodle (all of whom are not, despite confusion, apes). So if you ask someone who lives and dies by this view of the band, the Gorillaz have and always will have four members. However, if you ask someone else, he or she might say that the Gorillaz’ only members are Damon Albarn, the musical mastermind behind the whole thing (from Blur, great band if you’re interested), and Jamie Hewitt, the characters’ illustrator. Then again, if you ask yet another, he or she will say that due to the vast number of contributors on each album (ie. Dan The Automator and Danger Mouse), you can never be sure of the exact number of members.

What is the point of all this information? Nothing, really. Because whether you believe the Gorillaz to be 2, 4, 10, 78 or 124 members strong, the fact remains that their music is incredible. Now, some people may be a little wary about my categorizing the group as hip hop, but if you’ve ever listened to their stuff, it’s impossible to not realize that hip hop has a very heavy influence on the overall sound. Not to mention that their two biggest hits, Clint Eastwood and Feel Good Inc., feature none other than freaking Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and De La Soul respectively. Anyways, Demon Days is actually the second full length album in their catalog, and was executive produced by Damon and none other than Danger Mouse. I think that Dan the Automator, who produced the first album, is usually a better producer than Danger Mouse is, but I have to say, Demon Days is the better album. But why am I writing all of this when I should’ve started the damn review already?

The Good:

2. Last Living Souls- The melancholy, dark sound on this track is what you can expect for pretty much most of the rest of this album. I love it.

3. Kids With Guns - Despite the ridiculous name, it’s a really good song. The simple bass beat works so damn well, it’s genius.

4. O Green World

5. Dirty Harry (ft Bootie Brown) - I get glad when I see that anyone from the Pharcyde is featured in a song. I get straight ecstatic when the song in question is actually great.

6. Feel Good Inc. (ft De La Soul) - You’ve probably heard this song before. I think that this song along with the music video is plain ridiculous. If you go to Wikipedia they actually have a surprisingly long entry going into the finer details of the messages behind this track.

7. El Manana 

9. November Has Come (ft MF Doom) - Told you this album is full of hip hop. Good hip hop at that. MF Doom is a beast on the mic.

10. All Alone (ft Roots Manuva) 

11. White Light - According to the animated Gorillaz universe, 2D is the main male vocalist of the group while Noodle takes care of female accompaniment. This song is the only one where Murdoc does any of the vocal work and interestingly enough was made while he was drunk and most likely high. This song hits fast and it hits hard.

12. Dare (ft Shaun Ryder) 

14. Don’t Get Lost In Heaven - My only complaint is that it’s too short. There’s a demo version on the D-Sides but I haven’t had the chance to listen to that yet.

15. Demon Days 

The Solid:

1. Intro - It does nothing more and nothing less than what an introduction should do.

8. Every Planet We Reach Is Dead 

13. Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey’s Head (ft Dennis Hopper) - It’s interesting enough, but it’s not something that you’d want to listen to over and over again.

The Bad:

Final Score: 9.5

The Gorillaz were able effectively destroy the sophomore curse with Demon Days, which is nothing short of brilliant. The album isn’t perfect, but it’s damn close, and it’s only missteps aren’t really big issues. Sonically, it’s just so pleasing to listen to, and it’s so different from anything else that’s out there, including even the Gorillaz’ own previous album. It may take a few listens to really get into it, only because it isn’t something that you may be used to, but it’s well worth it. Now if only the third LP wasn’t taking ages to come out.