The wait is over for Gorillaz fans around the world. Cracker Island – the brand new album from the biggest virtual band on the planet – finally dropped today. Listen here.
Cracker Island is the eighth studio album from Gorillaz, an energetic, upbeat, genre-expansive collection of 10 tracks with an evocative synth-led 80’s sound featuring yet another stellar line-up of artist collaborators: including Bad Bunny, Stevie Nicks, Adeleye Omotayo, Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bootie Brown and Beck. Recorded in London and L.A., it is produced by nine-time Grammy Award-winning producer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter extraordinaire Greg Kurstin, Gorillaz and Remi Kabaka Jr.
It’s been a virtual and real world whirlwind since the first taste of Cracker Island arrived with title track ‘Cracker Island ft Thundercat’ dropping in June last year. The band followed up this “…blissed-out groove” (New York Times) with a further hint of things to come when Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz live band performed album track ‘New Gold ft. Tame Impala & Bootie Brown’ live to a sold-out crowd of ecstatic fans at London’s All Points East Festival in August. Gorillaz World Tour 2022 saw the band bring their spectacular mixture of music and circus across 55 shows in 24 countries for over 1.5 million fans; the band shared two epic hit videos for ‘Silent Running ft. Adeleye Omotayo‘ and ‘Cracker Island ft. Thundercat‘ both directed by artist and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and the Emmy-nominated Nexus Studios director, Fx Goby. Gorillaz collected the Best Alternative Award at the MTV EMA’s in Düsseldorf and December saw Gorillaz revolutionize the very concept of musical performance to transform the streets of New York and London into stages for two larger-than-life ground-breaking world’s first geo-spatial AR performances of their track ‘Skinny Ape’, watch it below.
With Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel relocating to Silver Lake, California, their new mansion home in the hills proved to be the perfect base from which to recruit new members to join ‘The Last Cult’. The group of musical misfits have kept delighted fans updated on their latest series of misadventures: The Great Leader AKA Murdoc fell in love with the lady next door and bottled as his own Divine Essence. Russel was glued to the TV in an effort to salvage some meaning from the static and save humanity, while Noodle set about compiling a handbook of wisdom and knowledge. 2D kept busy being 2D. All the while barrelling towards a prophesized day of reckoning called The Rupture.
Drummer Russel Hobbs said – “Cracker Island is a 70s love letter to LA. Corduroy, big hair, pool parties, a different time when today was still a thousand tomorrows off. Sit back and party like it’s 1979.”
Murdoc said – “Every Gorillaz album is its own universe, behold our latest creation! Am I the all-powerful being at the centre of that universe? Listen and decide for yourself!”
Guitarist Noodle added – “A trip through many worlds, when I look back it already seems like some weird dream from another place and time.”
And 2D mused – “Apart from nearly being sacrificed in a cult ceremony I really enjoyed making this album.”
Gorillaz will return to North America this Spring, with a full live band performance – to include surprise guests – at Coachella on Friday April 14th and Friday April 21st 2023. Before heading out to that other desert for their highly anticipated, must-see Coachella performance, Gorillaz will bring Cracker Island to Las Vegas, where they’ll play a rare, intimate one-off show Wednesday April 12th at Zappos Theater.
Cracker Island – FULL TRACKLISTING:
- Cracker Island ft. Thundercat
- Oil ft. Stevie Nicks
- The Tired Influencer
- Tarantula
- Silent Running ft. Adeleye Omotayo
- New Gold ft. Tame Impala & Bootie Brown
- Baby Queen
- Tormenta ft. Bad Bunny
- Skinny Ape
- Possession Island ft. Beck
ABOUT GORILLAZ
Created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle. The BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band formed following a collision of mishaps, meetings and pure luck to blow up a pre-digital world with their colorful backstory and ground-breaking virtual ways. Based at Kong Studios in West London, Gorillaz settled into a life of musical innovation with an eye-wateringly exciting roster of collaborators, a list that includes musical legends, geniuses and future stars from Elton John to Little Simz, MF DOOM to Jean-Michel Jarre, Grace Jones to slowthai, Kali Uchis to Sidiki Diabaté, plus so many more. With eight albums to their name, Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018), Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez (2020) and Cracker Island (2023), Gorillaz is a truly global phenomenon, achieving success in entirely new and unique ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, Montevideo to Manchester and winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor.
