by
Gorillaz
- Record Label: Parlophone
- Release Date: Oct 23, 2020
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Oct 22, 2020Often Gorillaz records fall victim to feeling a little disjointed but with many moods and gargantuan guests here, Damon somehow manages to make ‘Strange Timez’ feel like a cohesive whole. Gorillaz can often be a hard band to define, and their records haven’t always fared well in the context they’re released in - in 2020 though, it all makes perfect sense.
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Oct 30, 2020In an era that’s become too reliant on guest features and scene-stealing cameos, here the delicately-honed collaborative approach seems to bypass any kowtowing to ego. There’s an at-ease alchemy at work. That all stems from Albarn, who doesn’t crop up when he isn’t needed.
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MojoOct 28, 2020The most cohesive Gorillaz album since Demon Days 15 years ago. [Dec 2020, p.81]
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Oct 26, 2020A strangely cogent album for wildly unstable times.
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Oct 23, 2020Of all of the guest-heavy Gorillaz albums, this is by some margin the leanest, meanest and grooviest set of the lot.
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Oct 22, 2020‘Strange Timez’ is yet another worthwhile endeavour, the band keen not just to match the skill and pace of modern pop outlets, but to outlast the competitors. Whether your consumption method was more traditional, or you’re perhaps tempted to binge every episode in this album format, there’s joy aplenty here.
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Oct 22, 2020A record that walks the streets of West Africa and West London with equal confidence, ‘Strange Timez’ offers respite from the dark clouds that swarm above 2020, a gateway into another realm.
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Oct 21, 2020Its maximalist aesthetics and musical creativity combine to make something intensely addictive and satisfying, but it’s still inherently hard to put your finger on what exactly it is.
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Oct 21, 2020The songwriting is sharp, and the melodies uniformly great.
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Oct 21, 2020The only constants are Albarn’s drowsy presence, shuffling through songs as if shot in the neck with a tranquiliser dart, and the stout melodicism that makes …Strange Timez the finest Gorillaz album in a decade.
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Oct 29, 2020Strange Timez doesn’t break a whole lot of new ground, but it’s Damon Albarn’s strongest release since Plastic Beach and an infectious celebration of the unique legacy of Gorillaz.
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Oct 21, 2020Once again, Gorillaz’s ability to infuse their immaculately polished and idiosyncratic production with the wide-ranging talents of their guests is commendable, too, ensuring that their work remains charmingly singular by default. Sure, its lesser moments are expectedly artificial and monotonous — that, too, knowingly comes with the territory — but there’s more good than bad here, and most Gorillaz devotees will surely adore it.
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Oct 21, 2020Snags aside — “The Lost Chord” sounds bloated, and bonus cut “MLS” sands the edges off JPEGMAFIA — Strange Timez (out Oct. 23) adds a delightful new chapter in Gorillaz’s ongoing tale of cross-pollination.
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Oct 23, 2020Coherence has never really been a hallmark of the Gorillaz aesthetic anyway, but this set of songs isn’t a mess, either; several moments offer interesting cross-generational riffs on U.K. music history. ... As always, Albarn’s ability to create dubby, drifting synthetic beauty — a kind of futurist pastoralism — remains a key ingredient to his music’s distracted wonder.
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Oct 22, 2020The likes of Robert Smith, Beck, St. Vincent, Elton John, 6lack, Fatoumata Diawara, and Peter Hook help pull the album away from the realm of solipsism, suggesting that even when the world is largely isolated from itself, there is still the common language of music that binds us all.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 122 out of 133
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Mixed: 7 out of 133
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Negative: 4 out of 133
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