Gorillaz have released their eighth album, Cracker Island. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify.
Originally announced last August alongside the release of “New Gold” — a mesmerizing single featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown — Cracker Island not only augments the band’s canon of inquisitive pop gems, but also shows the animated quartet collaborating with an impressive list of guests, including Bad Bunny, Stevie Nicks, Thundercat, Beck, and more. With these parts combined, the sum of the album is an exciting plunge back into the search for meaning in the modern world.
For their part, the virtual band finds itself in the perfect setting for their search. 2-D, Noodle, Russel Hobbs, and Murdoc Niccals have left their West London home base for new digs in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where fame-lust, toxic consumerism, and the occult blend together as easily as exhaust fumes and the Angeleno air. Ruminating on themes of disillusionment, real-life mastermind Damon Albarn uses this setting to take the “manufactured reality” concept to a profound new level.
In her review of the album, Cady Siregar wrote, “Cracker Island — a treasure trove of pop-culture references — dives into the disillusionment you lose yourself in amidst an artificial society set to collapse at any moment… Eight albums in, Gorillaz are still capable of producing a fresh, rich album that spans genres and moods, with so many different textures and sonic fabrics that they have cultivated a musical universe of their own.”
While Gorillaz just wrapped up their massive 2022 world tour, the band is set to perform at Coachella later this year. Grab your tickets here.
Cracker Island Artwork:
Cracker Island Tracklist:
01. Cracker Island (feat. Thundercat)
02. Oil (feat. Stevie Nicks)
03. The Tired Influencer
04. Tarantula
05. Silent Running (feat. Adeleye Omotayo)
06. New Gold (feat. Tame Impala & Bootie Brown)
07. Baby Queen
08. Tormenta (feat. Bad Bunny)
00. Skinny Ape
10. Possession Island (feat. Beck)
11. Silent Running (feat. Adeleye Omotayo) [2D Piano Version]