Gorillaz Cracks Open New Album

It’s coming up! With less than a month to go, eager Gorillaz fans are preparing to “Rock the House” with the virtual band’s 8th studio album, Cracker Island, scheduled for release on Feb. 24.

Gorillaz, the brainchild of musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, is composed of four virtual band members–2-D, Noodle, Murdoc Niccals, and Russell Hobbs. Creating genre-hopping hits since 1998, Cracker Island is another tribute to the band’s unending drive for musical weirdness.

“I kind of, sort of, imagined each song being another sort of utopian island,” Albarn said in an interview with Apple Music. “I suppose the only thing that connects all of these different utopias is the human imagination.

Much like Humanz and Demon Days, Cracker Island features a number of talented guests to keep up the band’s reputation for diversifying its sound. The list of known-features includes Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Beck, Adeleye Omotayo, and Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks.

If you’re after a pithy pull-quote, let’s go with ‘Cracker Island is a stone-cold banger.’

— Murdoc Niccals

“I can’t wait till it comes out because I’m so proud of it,” Nicks said in an interview with Apple. “Now, I was an honorary Heartbreaker. I was an honorary Foo Fighter. And now, I’m an honorary Gorilla. I’m so happy.”

Based on the album’s early singles, such as “Skinny Ape” and “New Gold”, Cracker Island seems to continue Gorillaz’s experimentation with sound and style. Pulling from genres like electro-pop and psychedelic rock, the band has no qualms about varying its influences.

“If you’re after a pithy pull-quote, let’s go with ‘Cracker Island is a stone-cold banger,’” Niccals said in an interview with DIY. “Cheers.”

While only five songs have been released, the album is sure to make waves in the music scene after Gorillaz’s two years of silence. For now, listeners can enjoy the cryptic musings of the band’s brilliant and somewhat unusual virtual members.

“When the reckoning comes, gotta be ready to step through the gateway,” Hobbs said in a press release. “Cracker Island’s got the entry codes…”