G Sides

Murdoc, 2-D, Noodle and Russel have not suddenly become the most prolific animated band in the world.

No, the cartoon characters have been busy touring the globe (they’re currently in North America) and so G Sides is not a brand new album, but rather a compilation of remixes, b-sides, unreleased tracks and rarities (as well as two of their groundbreaking videos) to keep their millions of fans sated until the next album proper arrives.

Kicking off with the stonking Soul Child mix of current single ’19-2000’, you would be forgiven for thinking these mammals were in full-on party vibe, but things are soon brought crashing groundwards with the downbeat dub reggae of ‘Dracula’. Happy vibes are briefly restored through the ultra laid-back radio edit of ‘Rock The House’, but these are Gorillaz in sheep’s clothing, as the cloying atmosphere is re-established via the dark hip-hop of the Phil Life Cypher Version of ‘Clint Eastwood’, a slowed-down distant relative of the original, albeit a damn fine song in its own right.

Of the two new songs, ‘The Sounder’ is lively hip-hop fare served up with more than a nod to Indian melody and a Prince-like falsetto chorus, while ‘Faust’ is a mellow synth-driven homage to the 80s of Giordio Moroder and Jean Michel Jarre, with some eastern vocals thrown into the mix almost as an afterthought.

The album ends well with ‘12D3’, a mainly acoustic number which has Albarn written all over it. However, like most such collections, G Sides is a mixed bag and can only be really recommended for completists.