Gorillaz - The Mountain Review
Another year, another new album by the well-oiled and shapeshifting music machine, Gorillaz! The love child of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and vocalist Damon Albarn and visual artist Jamie Hewlett, who draws and animates all four virtual band members, Gorillaz has had an illustrious and successful career in their nearly 30 years of music making, which is full of standout guest features and a colorful carousel of genres. Having recruited a third permanent member, producer and percussionist Remi Kabaka Jr, who has also been the voice of band member Russel, this trio has been knocking it out of the park ever since their 2017 album, my personal favorite, Humanz, and again with their follow up, 2018's The Now Now, which I wrote about at the time. Nearly a decade and several stacked albums later, Gorillaz are back with The Mountain, full of deep themes, a short film, an art book, and more musical styles to share.
In case you were wondering, the album's title is written in another language, or Davanagari script, and you'd be correct in assuming it is a translation from Hindi and other languages to "mountain". This figurative and literal ascension of Gorillaz and their stature alongside the greatest visionary music artists is befitting and the music contained within. The Mountain shows that the Gorillaz are still peaking. Their previous album, 2023's Cracker Island, I admit, I was a little bit lukewarm on. It just didn't have the feel of Gorillaz breaking new ground. This album however is an awesome new level for them. This time, masterminds Albarn, Hewlett, and Kabaka Jr, all dreamt up a full encompassing piece of art in the album, a hardcover art book, and a short film featuring 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle.
One of the aspects that will jump out to both first-time listeners and seasoned fans will be the inclusion of world and Indian music influences, something that sounds fresh and new. This is on full display from just the opening moments, and really, the entire song, which is almost an entirely instrumental sitar and tabla-fused track. The only lyrics are within the final minute of it, with the album’s title being repeated, alongside imagery of reaching The Mountain upon death. Personally, I don't recall hearing eastern beats or grooves in their previous entries, unless I might've missed certain songs. The Mountain fully embraces this music and culture, and maybe this is the appropriate journey to go on since the main theme of the album is about passing into the spirit world.
This two song track, The Hardest Thing and Orange County, both open with a line that hits right at the heartstrings, "You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye to someone you love." The words cut deep in anyone who has experienced profound loss, but the music and the melody is a necessary counterpoint that there is a silver lining and the through line for The Mountain. "And when the curtain rises and the party begins, Do you laugh? Do you break down inside, Wondering how, How you got to the afterlife?" It feels like an easy conclusion to declare this the most mature Gorillaz album, but that is sort of cop out to declare that just because an album simply covers death as the main theme that it’s “mature”. Though, that doesn't seem to be the case here.
Featured collaborators include Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mod Def), daughter of legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, and Trueno amoung many others. Just like most other mainline Gorillaz albums, this one is also a wide-ranging group effort. Despite the heavy theme of death, the understandably somber mood is thrown to the wayside, and replaced with a celebration of life in its place. There are a lot of very interesting and moody atmospheric songs that are strung together with synth-pop, world rhythms, and traditional hip-hop.
The Manifesto is one of the hardest songs off the album, and it takes several listens to fully appreciate this 3-songs-in-one track. Featuring rappers Trueno and Proof, it spins between Spanish, English, Bollywood, horror, and the grandiose. It is very thematic work that puts visuals of sun-soaked Indian paradise in the mind's eye. Ultimately, with these 15 tracks, The Mountain is aptly titled, because it is a mammoth album. To include not just the album, but a short film and hardcover art book, it just seems right, given that since it's been almost 30 years, that more Gorillaz media and a fully immersive world is due.
The Mountain: Deluxe 2 CD and Hardcover Art Book
The short film which just released today, titled The Mountain, The Moon Cave, and The Sad God, is -nothing short of a gift, giving fans a taste of what a Gorillaz feature film might be like in its too-short 9 minute runtime. It's understandable why fans were upset that a Netflix feature Gorillaz film never materialized. 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle have all been the faces of the Gorillaz music videos, but this is something else, as Hewlett animates them in a setting and scenario not unlike another beloved classic Disney animated film, Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. It's impossible to not make this connection, which is what makes this short film new and nostalgic at the same time. Check it out! Premiering today at 11:00am Eastern Standard Time.
The Mountain is a super cohesive album. Granted, it does take a little while to get the ball rolling, with the extended, while still enjoyable, introductory track. Compare that to Plastic Beach's Orchestral Intro from 2010 and you may have an idea of what I'm talking about, because that one clocks in at just a minute, nine, which allows the album to blossom with Welcome to The World of of The Plastic Beach pretty swiftly. This introductory title track is just under five minutes. Maybe I'm being impatient, but I do believe that timing is everything. The Mountain sure does captivate. This time though, they are predominantly on the eastern side of world, which really just means that it simply comes down to your musical taste. I love world music, and I think the Gorillaz lads combine it well into their established repertoire of tasteful sounds. I predict that plenty of fans may fall in love with it and claim The Mountain as their new favorite album and even venture to declare it their best and most engaging album. No matter what, as always is the case, a new Gorillaz album is always an essential listen.
The Mountain: 8/10
Recommended Tracks: The Mountain, The Manifesto, The Shadowy Light
