★★★★★

By Iain McLean

Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn’s creations return for their ninth album and prove once again their as relevant and as iconic as ever.

Albarn has spoken about his inspiration from this album and that the decision for the sound and the themes came from a trip to India’s Amber Fort in Jaipur. It was there he came across a local playing a sarangi, which he recorded and began incorporating it into the next phase of the fictional bands story.

Damon was so taken by the Amber Fort that once they had the music written, they wrote the titular song ‘The Mountain’ on location.

Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn (Getty Images)

They did not do this alone however, as the album boasts a vast array of artists from all genres coming together to create the vision that was the Gorillaz’ ninth phase.

The band made the clear, smart choice of including artists from India itself with the famous Indian sarod playing brothers, Ayaan Ali Bangash and Amaan Ali Bangash, Ashla Bhosle - a 92-year-old Indian actress, television personality and playback singer - and Ajay Prasanna, an internationally acclaimed flautist.

This wasn’t all the help they had however as the album also stars names such as IDLES, Sparks, Trueno, Gruff Rhys, Mark E. Smith, Johnny Marr, Black Thought, Bizarrap, Jalen Ngonda, Ashli Puthli, Kara Jackson and The Clash’s Paul Simonon.

This is a level of collaboration not seen since the bands third album ‘Plastic Beach’ back in 2010.

Much like that album, the amount of collaboration doesn’t weigh any of the songs down or make them feel too cluttered. Each song is produced with care and beauty that outshines most of the more recent albums.

The clear stand out singles are the stacked ‘The Moon Cave’ (feat. Ashla Puthli, Bobby Womack, David Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought), which opens with a beautiful orchestral set up before the beat picks up into a stunning fusion of synth, drum lines and Indian music in the background.

‘The Happy Dictator’ (feat. Sparks), which was the first single released on Radio 1’s ‘New Music Show with Jack Saunders back in September. This single is a pure upbeat delight juxtaposed with lyrics from a dictator’s point of view, which makes the listener question whether this is truly genuine or a façade.

The third stand out is ‘Orange County’ (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar) which deals with the themes of saying goodbye to loved ones and reflecting the albums themes of death, grief and hope. This is all set to a beautiful synth backdrop with horns while Albarn lays down vocals.

The final stand out is the closing song of the album, ‘The Sad God’ which ends the record with a final reflection of loss and places its importance to ‘The Mountain’ right at the top as this is a final underline on the themes of death, grief and rebirth.

These are the themes that this phase of the Gorillaz revolves around, as in India death isn’t the end, it’s a rebirth and the beginning of something new through reincarnation. This is what we see in the short film that released along with the album titled, “The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God” as the band goes through this process.

With that theme in mind, it does fit that there are collaborators on the record that have already left us.

Proof, of D12 fame, appears on ‘The Manifesto’ with vocals he recorded 25 years ago before he was shot dead in 2006, which includes the poignant line “No one can convince the invincible to be sensible”.

Tony Allen, a well-known Nigerian drummer, died in Paris in 2020 but lends his voice on the track ‘The Hardest Thing’.

The two other names that complete this group are Bobby Womack and David Jolicoeur, who both appear on ‘The Moon Cave’.

Damon Albarns decision to include these late artists truly enhances the record, showing that absence is still presence. It also stands as a tribute to them, as even if you pass away, your memory will continue in those that remember and hear you.

As Albarn says in the fifth track, ‘Orange County’, “I’m not your enemy, your atoms gone, you stand alone, and everything you gave to someone you love… that’s the hardest thing”.

‘The Mountain’ is available to stream on all platforms, with physical copies available in all good record stores.

Gorillaz – ‘The Mountain’ Review: A beautiful tribute to life, death and rebirth