Demon Days Gorillaz

Having not listened to Demon Days for a good number of years now, I’ve relished coming back to this one. Albarn collaborates with a wide variety of artists, and in doing so deserves enormous credit for sculpturing such a cohesive, accessible record — ten years on and it’s still very impressive how, with all the stylistic twists and turns, the album remains consistent enough to create such a unified package. Attached with plenty of nostalgia, Demon Days is an extremely enjoyable listen and undoubtedly the most complete Gorillaz release to date.

It’s excellent; a cartoonish odyssey bristling with creative energy. The whimsy of the band’s debut album is toned down, and what emerges in its stead is a biting sombreness very much of the 21st century. It’s eclectic in the very best sense of the word.

The wide array of collaborations works in service of a final product that is far more cohesive than it has any right to be. I’m not sure it’s my favourite Gorillaz work, but it’s likely their most polished. Demon Days truly is a harmonic world, and one worth touching base with more than once.

Having never listened to this album as a full album, I realised just how many tracks I bought individually and loved. It’s a real testament to how varied and strong the album is. The instrumentation and the subtle but interesting beats throughout give each track depth without detracting from the accessibility of the album as a whole.

Albarn’s vocals tie what could be an incoherent mess of genres on paper, into a polished mix of electronic, hip hop and rock elements, all of which blend together incredibly well. This, among other reasons, is probably why I’ve been returning to Demon Days in part for years already and intend to continue doing so in the future.