The Gorillaz 2000 debut faithfully reissued! The Gorillaz are: the Automator, Del, Kid Koala, Blur's Damon Albarn, the Tom Tom Club, and Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto. Artwork is done by JC Hewlett, most noted for his animation Tank Girl. This is like Handsome Boy Modeling School pt. 2 with less of a hip-hop twist and more of an indie vibe. You are probably familiar with the single "Clint Eastwood" featuring Del with Albarn on the chorus. Also particularly strong is the other Del track "Rock the House" which many say is the track of the album. When Del is not holding down the mic, Albarn lends his voice to this slutty crossbreed of beats and brit-pop. It works well in places like beat-centric "Tommorrow Comes Today" or the Kid Koala skratch workout "Sound Check." In other places you'll really have to like Albarn's presence to get with it. The instrumental tracks that make up about the quarter of the album are a departure from Automator's past projects, really less on the break sample and focused on alternate forms of beat production (Star Shine). 16 tracks on double vinyl house in a gatefold sleeve.

music label: Parlophone 2000 / 2015

reviewed by the mgmnt 11/2000