Album of the week

Gorillaz – Cracker Island

The eighth album from Gorillaz, the cartoon band created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, follows on from 2020’s eclectic ‘Song Machine’.

However, it feels much more of a spiritual successor to their 2010 album ‘Plastic Beach’.

This is no doubt by design as Albarn has been teasing fans with a sequel for many years.

‘Cracker Island’ swaps that record’s environmental focus for a more introspective look at life in the modern world with ace bassist Thundercat brings the supplementary funkiness to a title track where backing vocals function like a Greek chorus.

Tracks like ‘The Tired Influencer’ and ‘Silent Running’ focus on the perils and positives of social media, with many references to our “cracked screen world”.

The aforementioned ‘Silent Running’ is the pinnacle of the album with its smooth production, mesmerising sound design and guest Adeleye Omotayo’s buttery smooth harmonies.

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has already successfully occupied this dreamy electro pop territory, so he’s a keen choice of collaborator on ‘New Gold’, where he is joined by rapper Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, riffing on former Gorillaz guest

Shaun Ryder.

Luckily the low points here few and far between, with only the track ‘Baby Queen’ easily skippable.

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny brings the Caribbean reggaeton vibes on ‘Tormenta’, and ‘Possession Island’ is another stand-out which sees the band once again team up with Beck to provide a poignant yet optimistic ending to the album.