Be warned, happy-go-lucky fans of Gorillaz and Blur. This latest project from Damon Albarn doesn’t have a “Feel Good Inc.” on it. Instead, an all-star lineup – including former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, former the Verve guitarist Simon Tong, former Fela Kuti/Africa 70 drummer Tony Allen and producer Danger Mouse — helps play his dark, slightly paranoid tunes. It’s kind of like Steven Soderbergh using George Clooney to make Solaris. Far from a true collaboration, these ace musicians simply flesh out Albarn’s tough and miserable songs, and only Simonon seemingly revels in revisiting his “Guns of Brixton” days of dystopian bass drops. A few of the tracks, particularly “Herculean” and “Nature Springs,” are haunting slices of life in London during wartime. Still, when Albarn sings “Kingdom of Doom” — “drink all day because the country’s at war” goes a typical lyric — you’ll almost reflexively wait for Tony Allen to kick off a funky Afrobeat in double-time, and be slightly disappointed when he doesn’t.
This article appears in Feb 7-13, 2007.
