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Demon Days
Gorillaz
EMI, 2005
REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/27/2006
When marketing Demon Days, Gorillaz shouldhave hired the same firm that marketed 1999s black comedyAmerican Beauty. For that movie's poster, the tagline "lookcloser" pulled audiences into the alluring shot of a teenager'snavel. With Demon Days, the tagline could be altered to read"listen closer." Because the first listen sure as hell won't grabyou. In fact, it may repulse you.
Those who thought Damon Albarn officially rode Bluroff the deep end of the music world with 2003's Think Tankwill have their beliefs confirmed with the plodding third track,"Kids With Guns." Gorillaz follows that song up with "O GreenWorld," a song that sounds as if Albarn was singing the track froma dentist's chair.
The album continues to go in seemingly insane,self-indulgent directions. We have Dennis Hopper doing a seeminglypointless spoken-word track ("Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey's Head")and the king of control freaks, Ike Turner, dropping in tocontribute a piano solo on "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead."
The fine vocal talents of Neneh Cherry and MartinaTopley Bird are utterly wasted, as they are primarily backgroundvocals on their respective tracks. At the end of the first listen,most people would totally accept why Dan "The Automator" Nakamurajumped ship after the Gorillaz' self-titled debut.
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