Gorillaz - The Mountain

As we know by now, 25 years in, Gorillaz albums are usually defined by a theme, be that a dystopian concept, pop immediacy or the unmistakable melancholy of Damon Albarn.

The Mountain attempts to hold all three at once in what is their most ambitious effort yet; their ninth studio record is expansive yet intimate, cartoonish yet devotional: vast in both scope and sentiment.

At its heart lies the death of parents for both Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. In the former’s case, Keith Albarn’s love of Hindu art and Ravi Shankar shaped the album’s spiritual direction following the Blur man scattering his ashes in Varanasi.

The result is a meditation on mortality and samsara (the cycle of life, death and rebirth) with Anoushka Shankar (daughter of the legendary Ravi) and her sitar acting as both musical guide and symbolic bridge.

At surface level, the Gorillaz narrative finds Murdoc et al retreating from fame to mystical highlands, but the real journey spanned London, Devon, New Delhi, New York and beyond.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/gorillaz-the-mountain-album-review/