Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

are an interesting concept. For all of the poking fun at the manufactured pop culture, Albarn knows exactly what he is doing; through the flat cartoon exteriors lie some of the best crafted three-dimensional pop songs of the 21st century. This is an outlet for Damon to do more or less what he likes. And he does, with great aplomb.

More synonymous with a consortium of musicians than cartoon imagery, part of Gorillaz success is down to guest vocalists. It’s a great idea in theory, but with collaborations so obscure and leftfield the results are occasionally inconsistent. Where previous offerings helped them break into mainstream consciousness, ‘Plastic Beach’ has a stab at targeting a more mature audience (if the eclectic line-up of artists involved is anything to go by) whilst simultaneously keeping existing fans. It works, just.

Kicking off as a pop edged rap affair featuring the likes of Snoop, Mos Def and De La Soul, there’s a combination of world music and a more subdued lo-fi electronic sound. It’s an interesting mix, albeit one that occasionally fails to make an impact. Snoop’s collaboration, ‘Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach’, however, is the best thing he has done for a decade.

It’s the middle of the album where it really begins to shine. The collaborations with Little Dragon are sublime; ‘Glitter Freeze’, featuring Mark E Smith, completely barking. ‘Superfast Jellyfish’ raises the bonkers mark with Gruff Rhys and De La Soul, who manage to fuse both of their unique sounds seamlessly. So much so, in fact, it makes you hanker for an entire album. Probably the most mainstream friendly collaboration here is that of Paul Simonon and Mick Jones, playing together for the first time since The Clash. Sadly, something that could have been so amazing delivers little.

Of the sixteen tracks at least seven are filler and with repeat performances, ‘Plastic Beach’ does feel a tad recycled towards the end; more Blackpool than Hawaii, it’s still an album full of brilliance from a bona fide British genius.