Gorillaz: The Fall

Gorillaz
The Fall
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Even I will admit that this album is pretty impossible to review from a "major release" standpoint, because it is not a major release from Damon Albarn and Company. Written and recorded on their North American tour using only apps found on the iPad, The Fall is more of curiosity than an album to fawn over and curl up with.  With that out of the way, it is definitely an album to sift through and find something to enjoy.  The Fall is pretty much split down the middle with simple ballads and electronic experimentation.  While I enjoyed the looseness and "let's try this to see what happens" attitude, I definitely find myself drawn to the more fleshed out songs.  "Revolving Doors" is a standout, featuring another lovely, fragile vocal turn from Albarn:



His voice always pairs well with acoustic guitars laid over a bed of analog synths and drum machines. 

Another key track is "Amarillo," with its stuttering drum programing, twinkly synths, and Albarn's haunting cry "Put a little love into my lonely soul."



Bobby Womack shows up again on one track, "Bobby In Phoenix," giving a wonderfully restrained vocal over a blues guitar background



The middle of The Fall features "Shytown," with it's swirling keyboards and falsetto vocal from Albarn, which segues into "Little Pink Plastic Bags," all droning bass synth and chanting vocals, which really makes the point of the album come into focus, that it is like leafing through Albarn's tour journal, getting patches and snippets of life on the road, his impressions of the United States, some more thought out while others are just fragments.





The rest of the album is a bit hit or miss to me, as it is mostly made up of instrumental, impressionistic sketches, some of which are more fleshed out than others.  Lead track "Phoner to Arizona," glides by smoothly, surfing on a 50s Sci-Fi wave of bloopy keyboards



"Detroit," pays homage to the techno scene which formulated there with a light and breezy Carl Craig like track:



The remaining pieces give a nice feel for the time and place in which they were made, but most don't leave an indelible impression.  Luckily, Albarn was wise to make most of these tracks very short.

The Fall is a interesting curio from the always fascinating Damon Albarn, and it being free is a nice bonus.  And for being recording using only iPad apps, it sounds remarkably polished and well produced, with almost no indication of low quality.  I doubt that this will be the wave of the future for other bands or for Gorillaz, but as a keepsake from their journey and experience touring the states, it is a lovely Christmas gift from Albarn.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.