Album Review no.8: Humanz - Gorillaz

When I first got into Gorillaz, it was about a month before this album was to be released. I was excited about this because I wanted to see what direction they would take the band. I was fairly disappointed to discover that this album didn't have the same level of quality as the previous albums. And with that, let's begin the review. I will not be putting the interludes in as I don't have anything to say about them. This will be the deluxe version I'm reviewing.

Ascension:
I do like this song a lot, the beat is very chaotic and interesting. Vince Staples has great flow and the chorus is very catchy. The biggest surprise of the song is that it included 2D however, he sounds good as always. The best part of the song is when the beat becomes much slower before becoming one long droning sound. The song also gets bonus points for sampling Oh Yeah Mr Krabs.
10/10

Strobelight:
I really like Peven Everett's singing, and the beat throughout the song. The chorus is amazing and extremely difficult to not sing along to. I do have an issue with the song involving a good amount of wasted time in the middle of the song where there are no vocals, which is an issue when the song is so clearly vocal driven. I also find the outro to be quite dull.
8/10

Saturnz Barz:
This is my favourite off the album by far. For on thing, the song contains the darker tones that make Gorillaz so good. I also find the autotune that is used in the song to be very well executed, as it adds a lot to the song. The greatest part of the song is definitely when 2D joins in during the chorus, it gives me goosebumps every time. I would go as far as saying that this is one of my all time favourite Gorillaz songs.
10/10

Momentz:
I find this song to be somewhat of a disappointment as De La Soul usually is featured in one of the greatest songs of ach album, but in the case, the song is one of my least favourite. I find the various sounds used to be more annoying than fun, the high pitched singing is pretty good though. The beat gets more insane as the song goes on, but I don't think that the intended effect would be to give me a slight headache. I hate the sound of women singing in the background as well. I must give the song some credit though, ever since listening t it, I keep telling people that I need a fresh of breath air.
5/10

Submission:
I'm not the biggest fan of this song either, I find it to be far too generic sounding, especially for Gorillaz. It does sound quite nice, with a pleasant beat, but the song is so average through the entire first half in terms of music, even if it is performed well. I do enjoy the part near end with Danny Brown though, it's an absurd part of the song, but it's still funny.
7/10

Charger:
This song is the one that I feel is closest to anything that the Gorillaz have done in the past. It's what I like to call the chaotic experimentation of the album, every one of their albums has a song as weird as this. I really like it though, 2D's constant droning over that repeating guitar riff as Grace Jones adds her own little sounds to the song makes for a truly intriguing song that I am happy to constantly listen to. I love this song.
10/10

Andromeda:
This is one those times where an insane amount of emotion has been put into a song. I also must give it credit for having 2D almost entirely sing the song. I don't have much to say about this song other than it is amazing.
10/10

Busted and Blue:
After Andromeda, there is another song that is quite sad and emotional. I like this one even more though, the minimal use of music outside of those single tones works really well in combination with the vocals. I do like the fact that as the album goes on, the songs become darker and more depressing.
10/10

Carnival:
I find this to be a fairly underrated song, it isn't amazing, but it isn't awful either. The vocal performance is good and the beat starts off fun. Unfortunately, as the song goes on, it really starts to grate on you. The song is quite short though and doesn't escalate to the same levels of annoying as Momentz.
6/10

Let Me Out:
This song is really good. It keeps changing the vocalist from a rapper, to a woman singing, to 2D singing an absolutely awesome chorus. I like the fast pace that the song has without having the same chaotic effect of many of the other Gorillaz songs. The part at the end where they are just repeating let me out is amazingly chilling.
10/10

Sex Murder Party:
This is my least favourite song of the album. I find the beat to get extremely repetitive and the at multiple points in time, sound like someone is just messing about with a synthesizer . I also really dislike the various guest artists in this one, none of them add anything to this boring slog of a song. I also can't believe that this song goes on for such a long time, with almost exactly the same thing running throughout the entirety of it.
3/10

She's My Collar:
My favourite part of this song is the beat. It's fast paced, unique, and simplistic enough to not be stupid. The vocal performance of both 2D and Kali Uchis are nothing to sneeze at either. The song is also extremely catchy, especially the chorus, this is another one of my favourites off the album.
10/10

Hallelujah Money:
I have very mixed feelings about this song, the tone, lyrics and melody are great, but I don't like the vocal delivery of Benjamin Clementine at all. Other than the vocals, I like this song a lot for its beauty. When 2D starts as well, the song becomes amazing. Unfortunately, I don't like the main vocals at all.
7/10

We Got the Power:
I find this song to be too cheesy and overly happy for my tastes, especially after how dark the previous song was. The song is somewhat catchy, but I can't get over how saccharine it is. It really like the moment where the beat kicks in and makes the song extremely upbeat and fun though, and my thoughts on the tone are a minor complaint.
7/10

The Apprentice:
The song is amazing in every respect, the beat is fun, the multiple singers are all great, 2D's contributions are great and the rapping at the end isn't too bad either. The chorus is also very good
10/10

Halfway to the Halfway House:
I'm not sure what to think about this song, everything just feels slightly off. I enjoy Peven Everett's singin, but I don't feel like its as good as in Strobelight. I don't really know what to say about this song, but I find everything about it to feel a bit off. It's still a good song though.
7/10

Out Of Body:
I find it quite refreshing to hear a song that sounds like I could really get into it and start dancing to it, especially after the onslaught of songs on the album that have been either slow, bad, dark or just use weird beats. I also like the fact that most of the vocals are whispered, although it is a bit too repetitive by the end.
9/10

Ticker Tape:
As the only laid back song on the album, I must praise this song greatly, as it sounds very relaxing. The song takes it to a whole other level when the other vocalists begin as well. It's all around a song that I could put on at any time and is the greatest song from the deluxe songs.10/10

Circle of Friendz:
While the song sounds nice, I can't ignore the simplicity of it, while it doesn't get particularly obnoxious or anything, I still think that there should have been more to the lyrics than repeating circle of friends for 2 minutes. Luckily, the rest of the song sounds great.
6/10

9*10 + 9 + 8 + 4*7 + 2*6 + 5 + 3 - 9*8.3 = 80/100

Final Thoughts:
I feel quite disappointed by this album, but I can't deny that this is still a great one. I wish that they had a few more experimental moments that worked, and I wish that they cut out a few of the songs, with those changes this album could have been so much greater and have been on the level of their self titled album at the very least. I still want to see what direction Gorillaz will go next, because they never stick to one sound for long.

Comments

I understand most of where you are coming from. Yet, if you didn't grow up with the albums of Demon Days, Plastic Beach or Self titled, you might have a different point of view. I was pleased to see them take a new direction and try out a different sound. I like Momentz, but I also listen to EDM a lot. Nice list! - KRX