rulingdiesout

i never hated the previous few Gorillaz releases as much as everyone else seemed to, but this still feels like a strong return to form. in its effort to pursue such a grand scope, The Mountain gets caught in some filler here and there, especially losing steam pretty hard for the last ~4 tracks. still, the pursuit of ambition largely pays off, and it's just so nice to hear a Gorillaz album that sounds like they actually give a shit again.

honestly beautiful. annabelle dinda is an incredible lyricist and i think that's what keeps drawing me to this album the most. people loved the social commentary on "The Hand" and that still shines through the rest of the album, but she covers such a variety of themes and emotions in such a vulnerable way. there are a lot of lines that really resonated with me personally (which might contribute to a bit of a bias in this rating but whatever), all of which are strengthened by ... read more

this album used to kinda scare me in middle school lol. i do respect this as a more experimental and stripped-back effort from them, but it just never really feels like it gets off the ground and is rarely very memorable. that combined with its gimmick of being mostly produced on an ipad creates this feeling of "yeah bro, we can tell" that doesn't really do the album any favours

didn't think i was gonna enjoy this as much but man these guys are just too good. some of the more chiptune-esque moments are a bit dated, but Cafuné shines at populating their music with catchy, infections hooks, alongside lyrics that explore the strangest and most bittersweet parts of human relationships. all of this is tied together by the vocal talents of Schat, who gives maybe the most emotive performance of the band's career on this EP. good shit, kinda bummed they ... read more