The Mountain by Gorillaz – Album Review
By David Schuster
I mentioned that I was reviewing The Mountain, the latest record from Gorillaz, to a friend of mine. “Oh, let me help with that!” was his apparently enthusiastic response. “How about: Pretentious, affected [redacted] release another up their own [redacted] album?”
Ha! Not a fan then?
I mention this exchange not because I agree with it. I don’t. Rather it’s because it’s nice to be reminded that music still has the power to elicit strong emotions in people, good or bad. It also struck me as echoing what was said in the mid-70’s punk era about the previous concept recordings of progressive rock. And there’s no doubt about it; The Mountain is a concept album, and a good one at that.
The central motif is the titular peak, which represents a border crossing between the worlds of the living and the dead. It’s a strong premise, and one that takes on an increased poignancy when you learn that both Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the two founding members of Gorillaz, lost their fathers during the production. As such, the recurring themes of death, mourning and what lies beyond, ring true and personal.
“Distinctive sounds”
Despite this, it isn’t a heavy or maudlin listen. Indeed, the tunes are often upbeat and joyful. The first single, ‘The Happy Dictator’ is quirky 80’s style electro-pop, very much in the style of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark or Depeche Mode. I could validly have added the band Sparks to that list, but I didn’t because the track actually features the talents of that iconic synth duo.
In fact, all the tracks are collaborations with many famous names including Anoushka Shankar, Black Thought, IDLES, Johnny Marr and Paul Simonon. Collaborations such as this offer the chance for artists to explore new avenues, genres they wouldn’t normally be associated with, which can generate some great serendipitous moments. Given the subject matter of the record, it’s appropriate that inclusion and credit is additionally given to a number of artists who have passed on. It’s an impressive, but dismaying list, that includes Bobby Womack, Mark E Smith and Tony Allen.
Both Marr and Shankar contribute to a significant number of the tracks. One such is ‘The Empty Dream Machine’, which could be a Blur song from a parallel universe, where Black Thought, Marr and Shankar performed with them at Glastonbury. ‘Delirium’, featuring Mark E. Smith and ‘The God of Lying’ with IDLES, also work particularly well, managing to combine the very distinctive sounds of those musicians into something which is also uniquely Gorillaz.
“Thoughtful”
The Mountain is also very much a world music recording, majoring on the use of traditional Indian instruments and featuring vocal performances in English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Yoruba. The introduction to ‘The Hardest Thing’ reminded me strongly of Trans-Global Underground’s classic of the 90’s, Dream Of 100 Nations, and at other times Lemon Jelly’s Lost Horizons.
As you might expect with such an eclectic mix, not everything works. The title track meanders about for almost 5 minutes, lacking focus and drive. That’s doubly unfortunate as it’s also the opening song. However, I’m a strong believer that you shouldn’t try to please all of the people all of the time. If you don’t like it, hit skip. You may well love the next song. That said, this is one of those albums that definitely rewards repeated listens.
So, is it fair to call The Mountain pretentious? No, not at all. It is both a concept and world music record, neither of which are currently musically fashionable. That doesn’t matter a jot, because it’s clever, thoughtful and deals with themes that will affect us all at one time or another. When Albarn sings, “You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye to someone you love”, it’s from a place of personal experience. It won’t be for everyone certainly but, like it or loathe it, the important thing is to listen to it.
David Schuster describes himself as an “adventurer, collector, musician and writer. Not necessarily in that order.” Growing up west of the Pennine hills of the UK and living his adult life east of them, he’s inclined to think that the Wars of the Roses were a mistake. David loves discovering new bands and musicians and is happiest listening to live music. He has travelled extensively in the UK and is fascinated by the variety, history and landscapes of the thousands of islands that comprise the British Isles. David is always reassured when online shops confirm that he’s not a robot.
