Gorillaz – ‘The Mountain’
Here are our thoughts on Gorillaz’s ninth studio album, The Mountain.
Words Emily Wilson
One thing that the iconic English virtual band Gorillaz has never lacked is ambition. Their latest offering, The Mountain - a fifteen-track genre-diverse epic - is a sprawling display of their characteristic high ambition and technical prowess, and their commitment to producing the unexpected.
In 1998, Blur frontman Damon Albarn co-founded Gorillaz with the artist Jamie Hewlett, partially as a means to distance himself from his distinctive Britpop sound. Gorillaz went on to radicalise the music landscape of the early 2000s, and with The Mountain, Albarn continues to prove that he should never be sonically pigeonholed.
The album sees Albarn and Hewlett - along with a posse of virtuosic musicians such as Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar - grappling with death and the unknown, inspired by Albarn’s pilgrimage to the northern Indian city of Varanasi - a location long associated with mourning - where he scattered the ashes of his late father.
The preceding year, Jamie Hewlett, his wife, and his mother-in-law, were 900 kilometres away in Jaipur, when his wife’s mother suffered a stroke from which she would never recover. “There’s no better place to come to terms with death than India,” Hewlett says. “In the West, death is final. Whereas in India, the sadness comes from knowing that you won’t see that family member in this form, but we celebrate the idea that they’re going to start again.”
It is this ethos - one that some might see as vaguely orientalist, and some might see as respectful and culturally engaged, depending on your perspective - which defines the album. It also probably explains why so many late pop cultural figures are posthumously sampled throughout the album, such as actor and filmmaker Dennis Hopper, singer-songwriter and guitarist Bobby Womack and Nigerian drummer and musician Tony Allen, amongst others (a practice that some would argue is a moral grey area, and further doesn’t appear to add much spiritually or sonically to the album). These are colossal themes to to be wrestling with: Hewlett and Albarn are attempting to answer questions that no one can, but you have to applaud their efforts.
“I always thought of Gorillaz as being this glorious Trojan horse, which gets you to places that you wouldn’t otherwise reach,” Albarn says. This is definitely achieved with The Mountain, which - despite its flaws - is still an unexpected and transporting collection of songs.
Albarn showcases his persistent talent for melody and atmosphere. The third track, ‘The Happy Dictator,’ featuring American pop-rock duo Sparks, is a high point: an aurally whimsical song which manages to simultaneously underscore Albarn’s standing as a consciously political artist. It is immediately attention-grabbing, catchy, and spiritually significant - a fine line that Albarn has always walked so expertly. ‘Orange County’ is another standout tune, open and honest and tenderly in line with the album’s themes. The fifteen songs create an engaging - if at times overwhelming - listener experience.
All in all, The Mountain is a feat of sonic opulence and spiritual ambition - one that doesn’t quite stick the landing, but deserves respect for the attempt nonetheless.
The Mountain by Gorillaz is out now.
