The Mountain

Gorillaz have 4 untouchable album's imo, Self Titled, Demon Days, Plastic Beach, & Humanz. Every release since has felt like copy paste. same theme's, similar sounds, a lack of passion. Song Machine was almost a return for the group but missed the mark in certain areas. That is until The Mountain. Front to back this album exudes the energy & creativity a Gorillaz album should have, with a distinct sound & direction. The Mountain feels like not just a follow up to their first 4 albums, but a return to form for the group. its similarity to Plastic Beach is something a lot of people bring up & I couldn't agree more, Ironically both albums had taken some time and re-listens to grow on me. From single one, Happy Dictator, I had been very iffy on this album. afraid that it was using the backdrop of India as purely just a theme & that the album would be to similar to something like Cracker Island. But, in the context of the full album, everything simply clicked in a similar way Humanz did with its singles. The direction of using artist who had passed away was originally off putting, its something I don't like when others do it or even when a label releases new music under the passed aways name. The Mountain does similar but in a way that I can appreciate significantly, choosing to have the whole album be a journey with those who had passed and celebrate their lives. This direction has had me reevaluate how I view Posthumous Artist being featured in music.