 | Gorillaz Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
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| | Full Review | Ratings (284) |
Give your Rating |
| 0.0 | Bro has djent in his pie | October 23rd 20 |
this is night and day compared to Humanz, thank the lord
edit: you're far from a lord, pots, don't kid yourself
10 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.0 poor | bxb612q | October 22nd 20 |
As much as I like to think I love Gorillaz, I will probably never understand the love for Song
Machine. To me, this is essentially Humanz 2.0. It may be somewhat better, but it's still a mess.
Every song is a collaboration, and in most cases I feel like the feature is more dominant than
Gorillaz themselves. Some artists really don't work well together on the same track either. I hate
that I'm being "that guy" here, but I miss the "good ol' days" when not every song had a feature.
Edit: I don't get it. Everyone criticized Humanz for the amount of features, but Song Machine gets
praised for it. I don't see why.
10 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | BlitzPhoenix98 | October 22nd 20 |
After 10 years, who knew Gorillaz still had it in them? Yes, it is a record full of collaborations left & right, but shouldn't take away
from the fact that Damon Albarn's finest project has regained its footing and that you'll find yourself coming back to this one multiple
times, just like with Demon Days & Plastic Beach. Whether it be hip hop (Momentary Bliss, Pac-Man), Synthpop (Aries, Strange
Timez, The Pink Phantom), Funk (Chalk Tablet Towers), Gorillaz have once again proved us why they are the masters of crafting
an album with such versatility. The only misstep I can really think of here would easily be "Friday 13th", as the atmosphere is not
very engaging, too stagnant, and Octavian's performance sounds very underwhelming; sounds really bored & uninspired - but hey,
I'm not gonna criticize it much otherwise. 10 out of 11 highlights? I will gladly take it any day.
I'm just happy to hear a good Gorillaz album, you know?
4 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | TanMan | October 27th 20 |
the contract for royalties on this must be a nightmare r
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.5 average | GoldenGuy444 | February 24th 23 |
Absolutely no cohesion but I think it works. Seeing the album's theme and vibe shift in real time as the COVID Pandemic loomed over the release of this thing makes it one of the more interesting "Quarantine Albums" of the time. Not a fantastic album, there are more whiffs than hits for me, but I appreciate the ambition and the time capsule nature of the whole thing.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | Mitch | March 13th 22 |
A slightly better version of Humanz. Not sure why this one gets so much love, pretty devoid of anything memorable.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Gene Gol-Jonsson CONTRIBUTOR | October 7th 21 |
Let's just pretend that this is their first record since Plastic Beach, okay?
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | PrincyAli | July 17th 21 |
Gorillaz put together an LP filled with features that you wouldn't normally think would fit, but the band do it somehow. 4.1/5 Favs: Strange Timez, The Valley of The Pagans, The Lost Chord, Pac-Man, Chalk Tablet Towers, The Pink Phantom, Aries, Desole, Momentary Bliss, Opium, Simplicity, Severed Head, MLS, How Far?
Bump |
| 2.9 good | Erwann S. STAFF | December 7th 20 |
Gorillaz inviting all their friendos so that they Damon does not have to ridicule himself by trying to sing on hip hop tracks. Indeed, the album is diverse and navigates through pop, rock, funk, r&b, and basically all genres the band has already played with. It's disjointed given the broad genre spectrum, but the album's diversity works for the better. One thing tho: pls stahp with these overlong albums.
Bump |
| 0.0 | Red D | November 18th 20 |
It?s remarkable how an endeavor that started with as much uncertainty as the Song Machine series ended up sounding as coherent and focused as it did. rThe virtual band celebrates its 20th anniversary with the culmination of a web series consisting of singles and music videos. The result is as eclectic as announced by the tracklist unveiled weeks prior to the release with artists including St. Vincent, slowthai, Robert Smith, Beck and ScHoolboy Q. We get the feeling the artists are not there by chance or for mass appeal: instead they all bring what they do best to the table and Albarn adapts songwriting style and instincts to marry his and theirs for maximal effect. With the help of Remi Kabaka Jr., they make sure the collection of songs sounds coherent despite no overarching concept or clear thread to connect the dots. We get some soul, some funk, hints of disco and club, dashes of hip hop and generous amounts of psychedelia, and while ?Humanz? came across as a bit all over the place and unfocused, ?Strange Timez? knows what to pick from where as well as the associated right dosage. Bleak times have long fueled Gorillaz? vision, and the new album is certainly no exception. Damon said ?We live in an era of hysteria, and this is a manifestation of that hysteria? - and the music speaks for itself.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | charlopiano | November 5th 20 |
I'm a massive Gorillaz fan and people seem to say that this is their best work since Plastic Beach and I would have to be the black sheep and disagree. While they blessed us with great songs, to me, as an album, it's nothing more than a standard Gorillaz release. The songs are very good, is the album coherent? Meh? I mean it's better than Humanz, but I feel like the way they released the album just gives this less of an impact. If they had released all of it in one shot, I would've probably liked the album better. All things considered, it's still a solid record.
Bump |
| 1.0 awful | finanime2020 | November 4th 20 |
I don't usually rate things below a 6 because art is subjective, and maybe I'm just not getting
the message, but this is just so trite and boring and useless on every level that I can't possibly
agree with anyone who likes it. I have to make a new tier for THIS (and grimes), 1/10, WORST
albums of the year.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | ajcollins15 | October 29th 20 |
The best Damon Albarn has sounded in years, and I would argue ever. On his seventh full-length album under the cartoon character 2-D and his gang of mischievous monkey crew, Gorillaz produces a vast and kaleidoscopic view of the world during the current pandemic, but through an almost childish gaze. Each song is laced with rich and colorful art-pop and neo-psychedelic soundscapes, with satiric lyrics, and deep guests from the likes of Beck, ScHoolboy Q, Elton John, and many more. Honestly, there really isn?t a dull moment on the whole record, what makes me feel hesitant about giving this a higher school is that everything feels to blended together, and to be honest for how rich, dense, and colorful the instrumentals are, nothing really sticks in my memory of what it sounds like. However, this is still a fabulous listen and a great album for the long-time artist to finally create a new sound without losing the original charm of Gorillaz.
Bump |
| 3.5 great | iambandersnatch | October 28th 20 |
It's full of good songs/everything is pretty enjoyable but there's really no -great- songs. Solid
album but not their best.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | doofy | January 8th 24 |
| 4.5 superb | H2okot | September 10th 23 |
| 3.5 great | vult | July 6th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | aroge | March 2nd 23 |
| 3.5 great | vai90 | February 24th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | mrManxxx | February 17th 23 |
| 3.5 great | chwe | February 16th 23 |
| 3.0 good | Timmy | January 18th 23 |
| 3.5 great | MvdW | October 7th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Djokoll | September 14th 22 |
| 1.5 very poor | olmedou | September 8th 22 |
| 3.0 good | brian | June 21st 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | Watch | January 27th 22 |
| 4.5 superb | Pvzuzu | January 13th 22 |
| 3.5 great | olisz | August 19th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rick64 | May 29th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | snakesc | April 27th 21 |
| 3.5 great | Veldin | February 16th 21 |
| 3.0 good | boff | February 5th 21 |
| 4.5 superb | Zeuzo | January 18th 21 |
| 2.5 average | leamhan | January 14th 21 |
| 3.0 good | fifek | December 31st 20 |
| 1.0 awful | gschwen | December 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | LedZep94 | December 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | jaideniv | December 23rd 20 |
| 3.5 great | Tim00w | December 19th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Stufy2 | December 18th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Jrzg85 | December 17th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | defty12 | December 15th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | bSmith | December 13th 20 |
| 3.0 good | Coast | December 5th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Kaleid | December 4th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Yotimi | November 24th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Yoni91 | November 24th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | alamo | November 19th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | DANcore | November 11th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Phate72 | November 3rd 20 |
| 4.5 superb | zoso33 | October 30th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | ellagos | October 30th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Paint | October 29th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Trundle | October 29th 20 |
| 3.0 good | Corney | October 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Josh | October 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Malto64 | October 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Flomink | October 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Risodo | October 27th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Xhoven | October 27th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Faraudo | October 24th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Jordan M. EMERITUS | October 24th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Handers | October 24th 20 |
| 3.5 great | GCSSB | October 23rd 20 |
| 3.5 great | slaps | October 23rd 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Khattak | October 23rd 20 |
| 3.0 good | Sowing STAFF | October 23rd 20 |
| 5.0 classic | jaspvr | October 21st 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | iGuter | October 11th 20 |
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