Album Review: Gorillaz, Humanz

For his latest outing with Gorillaz, Damon Albarn set himself the challenge of “making a party record for end of the world.” He has succeeded admirably with Humanz which, for all of the anxiety that stalks the album, contains a defiant optimism badly needed in these fraught political times.

As ever with Gorillaz, the record is masterfully produced, with Albarn assembling a Galacticos-style array of A-list guest contributors. Vince Staples delivers a wonderful rap on ‘Ascension’, which touches on America’s racial tensions; there’s a typically attitudinal appearance on ‘Charger’ from the incomparable Grace Jones; and Danny Brown excels on the atmospheric ‘Submission’, which fascinatingly marks the first ever Gorillaz co-write for Albarn’s Blur bandmate Graham Coxon.

At the heart of the album are three surefire hits. Leading the way is ‘Andromeda’, which has an irresistible pitch: Albarn has said that it’s his attempt to write an ’80s-style pop classic in the vein of ‘Bille Jean’ and ‘I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)’. Remarkably, he has succeeded, with the song’s scintillating groove topped off by a memorable chorus (“Take it in your heart now, lover”).

Similarly infectious, meanwhile, are the electro-funk workout ‘Strobelite’ and glitchy dance stomper ‘Sex Murder Party’ (song title of the year). Elsewhere, ‘Saturnz Barnz’ is a moody electro number with corkscrew rhythms; ‘Carnival’ is a brilliantly imaginative, psych-tinged ballad; and ‘Hallelujah Money’ is a superb slice of neo-soul. There are various spoken word interludes throughout to heighten the cinematic mood (including a pseudo-presidential address titled ‘The Non-Conformist Oath)’, while Albarn also calls on the evergreen De La Soul – by my calculation the longest serving Gorillaz collaborators – for the electro banger ‘Momentz’.

Humanz signs off with the defiant anthem ‘We Got The Power’, on which Albarn makes the inspired choice of casting Savages’ brilliant Jehnny Beth in an unfamiliar role: flamboyant soul diva. Fittingly for a record that preaches solidarity in the face of adversity, the song is a co-write between Albarn and one-time arch enemy Noel Gallagher. Certainly, this Britpop equivalent of the Versailles Treaty confirms that unlikely alliances are always possible.