I wasn’t sure it was possible for me to be more in love with the Gorillaz this year, then Damon Albarn goes ahead and announces he has recorded a follow up to Plastic Beach on his iPad and will be giving it away for free online on Christmas Day.  A giant tour around the world and two full length LP’s in a year with one of them given away for free? What a guy…  I’m incredibly curious as to what kind of wacky and wonderful music Albarn has come up with on his iPad.  Read more about the new album from NME: continue reading...

If possible I would blog about Gorillaz news every single day… but alas sometimes there just isn’t any new info on the band.  Not today!   Damon Albarn and a few of his fellow Gorillaz did a special acoustic performance for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge series, and threw in a tasty cover of fellow UK band The XX’s semi-hit “Crystalized”.  They somehow manage to make the chilled out song even more chilled out, but no less awesome.  Enjoy the performance below and check out the other songs they performed at Stereogum, continue reading...

Continuing their huge 2010 and fresh off the start of their first ever world tour, Gorillaz have released a new single not featured on Plastic Beach.  The song is called “Doncamatic” and features vocals from a new artist named Daley.  It sounds pretty different from anything on Plastic Beach, which is probably why it wasn’t included on the album, but it’s still a great tune in only a way that Gorillaz could pull off.   Check it out: continue reading...

Ok, it’s official… I’m a huge fan of Gorillaz.  It’s been slow process, but over the course of 3 albums this band has revealed itself to me as being one of the most interesting and creative bands around and I can’t deny it anymore.   Initially I assumed they’d be a one-hit wonder… then when the second album Demon Days dropped I assumed they’d only be a “singles” band… then Plastic Beach hit me like a ton of bricks and I’ve been listening to all 3 albums consistently over the last few months.  Each of the 3 albums is a mad jumble of styles and sounds and yet somehow they work out to a cohesive whole.  Add in the fact that the band members are cartoon characters and have their own growing and increasingly interesting back stories and you’re starting to get somewhere.  Finally, consider that the band is lead by ex Blur frontman Damon Albarn and features a rotating cast of the coolest musicians around and you’ve got the basics for Gorillaz.  I am totally sold on this band and so excited that they are touring North America, definitely a show not to be missed.  For today’s listening pleasure I’ve chosen the song “On Melancholy Hill” from the Plastic Beach album.  It’s a simple, yet amazing tune that I can’t seem to get tired of… Enjoy: continue reading...

When U2 had to drop out of the Glastonbury festival’s closing performance slot, Damon Albarn and his band of Gorillaz stepped up to the plate.  They did not disappoint.   Gorillaz has to be one of the most interesting, creative and talented bands performing these days and I can only hope that they’ll add more shows around the world.  Here they are performing “Clint Eastwood” with Snoop Dogg helping out: continue reading...

After the bands guitarist, Graham Coxon, left during the recording of their last album Think Tank things have been pretty stagnant for Blur.   Think Tank received mixed reviews and the band essentially broke up, or went on hiatus, or whatever it is bands call it these days.  Damon Albarn then went on to have incredible success with his cartoon band Gorillaz and it seemed as if Blur was done for good. continue reading...

The early buzz is that Coachella 2010 was a fantastic success and thanks to the magic of YouTube you can fairly easily find some of the coolest performances.  The one band that I was most interested in is the cartoon band Gorillaz and how their performance would translate to a festival audience.   Apparently it was was amazing, check out Damon Albarn and company performing “Feel Good Inc.”: continue reading...

Gorillaz continue their slow and deliberate viral reveal of their new album Plastic Beach with a new trailer set to an orchestral soundtrack that tours the “plastic beach” on the albums cover.  Its all very intriguing and it leaves me quite curious to see what’s in store for the band both musically and visually.  Be sure to check out Murdoc’s Pirate Radio for more sonic tidbits from the album… Here’s the trailer: continue reading...

With a fresh announcement yesterday that they’ll be closing out Coachella 2010 and a leak of the new single “Stylo” today, Gorillaz are back on the pop music map and set to release Plastic Beach on March 8th. Check out the single and more info from NME.com:

Gorillaz will release their third album, ‘Plastic Beach’ on March 8, the cartoon creations of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have told NME.COM. continue reading...