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Plus One
The 11 best Gorillaz songs
As Damon Albarn gets ready to usher in a new album with a string of UK shows, we rank our favourite 11 Gorillaz tracks
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett dreamed up Gorillaz while sharing a Notting Hill flat in the late 90s, conceiving of the virtual band as a reaction to the bland shallowness that was infiltrating the music industry. The pair have been relentlessly evolving ever since, both sonically and conceptually, with the project now encompassing comic books, video games, physical art and an extended universe that has swelled to include a multitude of characters and narrative arcs. Of course, they’ve also made some absolutely incredible music along the way.
With Gorillaz preparing for a string of UK shows and an upcoming album, The Mountain, we take a look back through their career to bring you our 11 favourite songs from the band’s towering discography.
11. ‘Clint Eastwood’
(single, 2001)
Compared to later Gorillaz records, ‘Clint Eastwood’ borders on primitive. The song is almost entirely made up of a catchy synth riff (lifted wholesale from the Suzuki omnichord), a thumping boom-bap beat, some surreal lyrics from Albarn and a couple of (admittedly masterful) verses courtesy of Del the Funky Homosapien. But the record turned Gorillaz into a household name, which means it’s earned its spot on this list. Plus, it’s still an absolute banger.
10. ‘Aries’
(Song Machine, 2020)
The first 30 seconds of ‘Aries’ consist of a series of atmospheric misdirections. The track opens with a searing guitar hook that seems to presage a rock and roll onslaught, before abruptly pivoting to a thumping drum machine beat bearing all the hallmarks of breezy 70s pop. It’s only once flanged guitars and luscious synths – both gently mournful – are added to the mix that the song settles into its final form. From there, Albarn, Peter Cook, and Georgia develop the mood with lyrics that meditate on themes of longing, loneliness and distance.
9. ‘Hollywood (feat. Snoop Dogg & Jamie Principle)’
(The Now Now, 2018)
Driven by a squelching bassline and stripped back beat, ‘Hollywood’ sees Albarn and frequent collaborator Snoop Dogg joined by Chicago tastemaker Jamie Principle. The trio take aim at the hollowness at the core of American showbiz, wrapping their biting critique in warm, West Coast funk.
8. ‘How Far? (feat. Tony Allen and Skepta)’
(Song Machine, 2020)
There’s a lot to love about ‘How Far?’, from the tension Albarn conjures with horns and strings to Skepta’s verses which, in true Skepta fashion, effortlessly weave together confrontational swagger with philosophical musings. But the main reason ‘How Far?’ looms so large in Gorillaz discography is the fact that it features the drumming of Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, who mentored Albarn throughout his career and passed away mere weeks after the record’s recording.
7. ‘Andromeda’
(Humanz, 2017)
Gorillaz records are often sonically dense, with melodies combining to form rich harmonies and individual elements frequently collapsing and melting into one another. But Albarn can keep it simple, too, as he proves on ‘Andromeda,’ which features the vocals of American singer-rapper DRAM. Although things get pretty hectic towards the song’s climax, for most of its runtime ‘Andromeda’ is carried by a basic four-to-the-floor beat, pulsing bassline and the kinds of catchy synth stabs that Albarn has perfected over the course of his career.
6. ‘November Has Come (feat. MF DOOM)’
(Demon Days, 2005)
There are a number of similarities between Damon Albarn and the late, great MF DOOM, from the conceptual approach both took to making music to the lasting impact they’ve had on the underground hip hop scene. So it’s not at all surprising that when they united on a track – the moody, enigmatic ‘November Has Come’ – the result was one of the best songs in Gorillaz’ discography.
5. ‘Feel Good Inc (feat. De La Soul)’
(Demon Days, 2005)
Boasting perhaps the most iconic laugh in music history, ‘Feel Good Inc’ will forever remain a favourite amongst Gorillaz fans. The interplay between the wistfulness of Albarn’s sections and the driving energy of De La Soul’s verses keeps listeners hooked from beginning to end, and it’s little wonder this track is still a regular staple of Gorillaz performances.
4. ‘Dirty Harry (feat. Bootie Brown)’
(Demon Days, 2005)
The spiritual successor to ‘Clint Eastwood’, ‘Dirty Harry’ bears all the hallmarks of an early Gorillaz classic: thunderous beats, ruinously catchy melodies, social commentary and a ferociously rapped verse, in this case delivered by Bootie Brown. The song was nominated for a Grammy, and it remains one of the most commercially successful Gorillaz records.
3. ‘Empire Ants’
(Plastic Beach, 2010)
Albarn’s vocal style is usually restrained, at times bordering on spoken word, so it’s a genuine treat when he displays the full extent of his singing chops, as he does on ‘Empire Ants’. The plaintive vocal melodies of the track’s first half would be a tough act to follow for most, but Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano is more than up to the task, displaying her own virtuosic talents as the instrumental kicks into full gear, shimmering synths and chugging basslines sweeping away delicate melodies as the track races towards its climax.
2. ‘Désolé ft. Fatoumata Diawara’
(Song Machine, 2020)
Désolé’ boasts some of the tightest instrumentation of any Gorillaz track, soft guitars and sorrowful synths giving way to melodic stabs and a swelling, triumphant horn section, while Albarn delivers introspective lyrics in alternating French and English. All of that is overshadowed, however, by the soaring vocals of Fatoumata Diawara, who completely steals the show.
1. ‘On Melancholy Hill’
(Plastic Beach, 2018)
You can find a Gorillaz track to match just about any mood, but if there’s a single thread that’s stitched throughout Albarn’s work, it’s melancholy. It’s therefore only fitting that ‘On Melancholy Hill’, with its yearning melodies and meditations on unfulfilled desires, should close out the list of our favourite Gorillaz songs.
