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Gorillaz-Humanz |OT| After All

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N

Net_Wrecker

Member
Warmed up to this a bit with some more listens, same thing that happened with Plastic Beach, though this album doesn't have the same highs.

Random thoughts:

- Momentz is a complete miss for me. The whole thing sounds like an off key drop without the build, and the instrumental is just doing way too much during De La's verses (which I also don't care for)

- Saturnz Barz is soooooo good. It's the closest thing on the album to that big standout single I'm used to from Gorillaz.

- Carnival has an incredible beat, but mannnnnnnnnn they cut the song off right when it should've shifted into 6th gear.

- Busted and Blue (; _ ;)

- Sex Murder Party is underrated. Vibes

- Hallelujah Money still awkward as hell. Makes more sense now, but i feel like I'm constantly behind Benjamin Clementine's melody trying desperately to catch up. The background singers on the chorus are great though.

- I also really like Out of Body, Let Me Out, Strobelite, Ascension, Andromeda, and She's My Collar.
_________


Idk where'd I rank this album yet, but I like it.
 
G

Goldboy

Member
Just finished listening to this, and as a huge fan I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. There are some good ideas and concepts sprinkled throughout, but the album as a whole just feels undercooked to me. There aren't any songs I'd consider "bad," but there are no real standout tracks either. Just a mediocre experience all around. Really hoping it grows on me, but honestly I don't really have any desire to listen to most of these songs again.
 
I

iShouldGoPro

Member
has anyone been listening to Ticker Tape as much as I have been?

the last 2 minutes of that song give me the best kind of feels.
perfect studying for finals track
 
H

hughesta

Banned
timetokill said:
This one hasn't grabbed me like previous Gorillaz albums, Ascension is a particularly bad introduction imo
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Ascension is soooooo good (imo) Vince kills his verses, the hook gets me hyped, and the instrumental is detailed and fun. My favorite intro to a Gorillaz album.
 
I

iavi

Member
im a good 6 or 7 listen throughs in now, and the album is beginning to settle in for me.

Busted and Blue is easily the best track on the album, though I wouldn't say it's anything like previous Gorillaz tracks. More akin to solo Albarn than anything actually.

The more I listen, the more the cohesion comes in too, I will say. A couple listens in, I really wasn't hearing the mesh and was definitely agreeing with the "it sounds like a playlist" mindset, but give it a couple listens and you'll hit that listen through where it'll be over before you realize it and somehow it all fit all the way through to We Got the Power. Hallelujah Money even sounds good within the LPs context--me hating it as a single.

I still wouldn't rate this as high as Demon Days or Gorillaz, but it's better than plastic beach ever sat for me with much higher highs
 
R

Realeza

Banned
I really hope Busted and Blue gets a video. I can imagine 2D drifting through space, kinda like in Saturn Barz, but more depressing.
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
Realeza said:
I really hope Busted and Blue gets a video. I can imagine 2D drifting through space, kinda like in Saturn Barz, but more depressing.
Click to expand...

I picture him alone in an elevator that's ascending over a burning city, and a lady gets on at some point and starts doing the back up singing.

But drifting through space totally works too.
 
A

Alcotholic

Banned
One thing I think makes Gorillaz stand out from most other artists is their ability to evolve their sound. Most artists can't or don't do this- they either stay the same or just change their music. But each Gorillaz album feels like an evolution of their previous one. This one is no exception with a side note that it sounds more like a sequel to Demon Days than Plastic Beach.
I have a lot of respect for what they do and I feel very lucky to have been around listening from their first album.
 
D

deleted

Member
So, what am I missing out on for not having bought the deluxe vinyl?

I like this album more than I anticipated. Didn't like the direction they took with plastic beach and this is way different.
 
R

RecRoulette

Member
xyla said:
So, what am I missing out on for not having bought the deluxe vinyl?

I like this album more than I anticipated. Didn't like the direction they took with plastic beach and this is way different.
Click to expand...

The regular delxue got an artbook, the super deluxe got a remixed version of every track.
 
N

NotLiquid

Member
I've come to the conclusion that despite the stylistic "evolution" of the overall album, Charger, Andromeda and She's My Collar are some of the most "Gorillaz" tracks the band has ever produced and are probably going to go down being classics for people who subscribe to the band having a definitive "style" (as opposed to just definitive production). Not so much because Damon is singing on the forefront of them but because they most embody some of the more universal approach of Gorillaz's brand of punk/trip hop.

Charger is basically Ghost Train on steroids. Andromeda is Rhinestone Eyes but spacier. She's My Collar is a darker Feel Good Inc that eschews bass for synths. You could easily make Phase 1-2 styled music videos out of these tracks with just the band playing guitars/drums/bass/keyboard instruments in these tracks. Outside of that I think Saturnz Barz does fit the Demon Days side of things if anything with it's buzzing bass, eerie keys and Damon's spooky voice, but Popcaan's style of dancehall isn't something they've explored.
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
Yeah I haven't listened to them since their second album but wtf was this? Feels like a bunch of samples looping for eternity. I don't like it at all.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
Holy shit this album is my fucking jam.

So much better than The Fall. Loving it.

Favourites are Ascension, Strobelite, Submission, We Got the Power and Out of Body.
 
R

Realeza

Banned
Ahasverus said:
Yeah I haven't listened to them since their second album but wtf was this? Feels like a bunch of samples looping for eternity. I don't like it at all.
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Sounds like the opinion of someone who listened to the album once with the earbuds that came with their iPhone.
 
A

aBarreras

Member
i liked momentz the first time, but the second time i couldnt really enjoy it, i didnt know why, then on the third time i realized that the second time my aux cable was faulty so the song sounded really weird and i dont know lacking, thank god it was just a faulty cable hahaha, love the song
 
M

mhanna49

Neo Member
My favorites are Strobelite, Charger, Andromeda, Busted and Blue, She's My Collar, The Apprentice, and Out Of Body. Charger is by far my favorite song on the album.

I enjoyed the first two albums because they were this great mix of alternative rock, hip hop, and kind of electronic. I just feel meh about this album. It's certainly not bad but I'm not going to keep this album in my rotation for very long. This album feels like it is a modern electronic pop and hip hop mix that doesn't appeal as much to me. This album feels like it is dominated by guest vocalists.

I haven't listened to much of Plastic Beach or The Fall and plan on rectifying that sometime.
 
D

DarkKyo

Member
2Smashed4U said:
I suppose I can see the appeal for Strobelite, less so for Charger, but it's just not what I come into a Gorillaz album expecting or wanting to hear.
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I don't think Gorillaz are here to cater to your specific tastes. For many those songs are incredible Gorillaz songs and what they like to hear from the band. They put out such a diverse range of styles and genres on their albums that obviously not everyone is going to like everything they do. Personally I adore Strobelite, and I think Charger is pretty good.
 
I

iShouldGoPro

Member
here's to hoping Jamie Hewlett is in the animation studio working with a team on the "She's My Collar" music video

i need it in my life so bad
 
2

2Smashed4U

Banned
DarkKyo said:
I don't think Gorillaz are here to cater to your specific tastes. For many those songs are incredible Gorillaz songs and what they like to hear from the band. They put out such a diverse range of styles and genres on their albums that obviously not everyone is going to like everything they do. Personally I adore Strobelite, and I think Charger is pretty good.
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OK, never said they did, but apparently my opinion isn't too far in the minority because this album is getting hammered in a lot of places.

I'd also hesitate to say they cover much ground on this album in terms of blending genres and that it's in fact one of the bigger problems with this album in general.
 
H

hughesta

Banned
2Smashed4U said:
I suppose I can see the appeal for Strobelite, less so for Charger, but it's just not what I come into a Gorillaz album expecting or wanting to hear.
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Charger is the most Gorillaz sounding song on the album! Reminds me a lot of their first album.

PB was hammered by a good amount of people when it initially released (although not quite as much critically) but now apparently people think it's a masterpiece, so who knows how this album will be looked on in the future?
 
M

ModernBoxes

Banned
Momentz is awesome. Charger, Strobelite, The apprentice and Out of Body too(even though the bass gives me a headache).


But Submission? Fucking awful. Starts out strong before Danny Brown turns it into a joke. I laugh and click Next. Kelela must of hated sharing that track with him. It could have been a single.
 
I

iShouldGoPro

Member
ModernBoxes said:
But Submission? Fucking awful. Starts out strong before Danny Brown turns it into a joke. I laugh and click Next. Kelela must of hated sharing that track with him. It could have been a single.
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i honestly feel the same way, and it's a damn shame. such a good track before his WISH I COULD THINK OF BETTER WAYS. that voice is an acquired taste
 
2

2Smashed4U

Banned
hughesta said:
Charger is the most Gorillaz sounding song on the album! Reminds me a lot of their first album.

PB was hammered by a good amount of people when it initially released (although not quite as much critically) but now apparently people think it's a masterpiece, so who knows how this album will be looked on in the future?
Click to expand...
Meh, it got pretty good reviews when it came out, and my opinion stayed the same about it. It's definitely not a masterpiece, but it's got enough good to great tracks to make it worth a listen overall.

ModernBoxes said:
Momentz is awesome. Charger, Strobelite, The apprentice and Out of Body too(even though the bass gives me a headache).


But Submission? Fucking awful. Starts out strong before Danny Brown turns it into a joke. I laugh and click Next. Kelela must of hated sharing that track with him. It could have been a single.
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lol wut. Is this your first time listening to Danny Brown or...

Sounds just like what you'd expect from him, his appearance is one of the best things about this record.
 
M

ModernBoxes

Banned
hughesta said:
Danny's verse is one of the best parts of the album wtf
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You must be desensitized to what he sounds like. That is, a Dave Chappelle skit where Danny is trying to sell you crack. Doesn't fit the song at all. Fingers crossed for a remix.


2Smashed4U said:
Sounds just like what you'd expect from him, his appearance is one of the best things about this record.
Click to expand...

I was excited to hear him but it's really not the right song for him. Take one part serious track and then slap him on there. I'm embarrassed to have it playing in my car at that point.
 
M

Moonkid

Member
Danny's verse is competent at best, he kinda comes and goes without leaving much of an impression beyond "oh shit it's Danny Brown!"
 
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