By Ethan Goddard
Death is one of the few things that all humans have to experience. Whether it’s your own clock coming to an end, or witnessing the aftermath of somebody else’s passing. Everybody processes death in different ways, and one of the most prominent ways to do it is through art. In music, we’ve seen this expressed by David Bowie with his final album “Blackstar.” It was made during Bowie’s 18 month battle with liver cancer, only for him to pass two days after its release. We’ve also seen this in Childish Gambino’s album “Atavista” (formerly known as “3.15.20”), which Donald Glover made as a way to cope with his father passing away in 2018. Needless to say, experiencing the loss of somebody can churn out the purest emotions in art.
Gorillaz’s brand new album “The Mountain” follows a similar theme of processing death after both members Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s fathers passed away in 2024. After the news reached him, Albarn embarked on a musical journey – recruiting beloved Indian musicians and going through old archival Gorillaz files to find old collaborations with (now) deceased artists. While Albarn (also known as Blur’s former frontman) was busy at work with the music portion, Hewlett (also known as the creator of the Tank Girl comic) was creating a short film/music video also named “The Mountain”… but more on that later. The result is one of the most gorgeous projects to come out of the Gorillaz collaboration. It not only feels like an incredible celebration of life, but a great reminder as to why human-made art is so damn special and irreplaceable.
The album begins with the title track “Mountain,” an incredible tone setter for the remainder of the record. Featuring very little vocals, the instrumentation is lush – showcasing that the duo aren’t going to be looking at death with a grim lens, but rather a bright, spiritual perspective. The album then fades into “The Moon Cave,” which features Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur (of De La Soul), Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought. While this song features two artists who have since passed, Albarn previously mentioned this was released as a tribute to Jolicoeur, who passed away in 2023. These two songs are featured in Albarn’s aforementioned short film, which I cannot recommend to you enough. The first time I watched it, I actually teared up and relistened to the album immediately with a completely new perspective.
The entire short is done with cel animation, the traditional, analog hand-drawn pre-Pixar style that dominated the 20th Century, including classic Disney movies like “The Lion King,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Jungle Book.”
Speaking of “The Jungle Book,” Albarn’s short feels like a spiritual successor to it in some ways. The short begins with following the band’s fictional drummer “Noodle” as a child, wandering through the jungle care-free. After going into a body of water, she comes out of it now as a full grown adult, with the rest of the gang slowly popping up and tagging along on her journey. By the end, the four of them end up in the middle of a body of water on a boat, with each member jumping off into the water and sinking, symbolizing what I can only interpret as death and rebirth. It’s a gorgeous story, and definitely worth a watch.
The record follows in this vein, keeping the Gorillaz sound familiar but fresh. “The Happy Dictator” (featuring the pop duo Sparks) feels like it could’ve been ripped out of a “Plastic Beach” recording session. It uses bouncy synths and Albarn’s classic vocals that sound like they were recorded through a payphone. The main thing that really makes the song stick out is the musicality during the chorus, shifting like its walls are being taken down and once again opening up its sonic world. This is a common thing the record does and honestly, I really love it! It’s apparent Albarn knows when to restrain himself to make other moments stick out and feel much more grandiose.
On “The Sweet Prince,” the same method is used again. The beginning of the track feels like taking the final steps of a long journey you’ve been on – the sun is setting, the air is cooler than before, the buzz of life surrounds you, things feel like they’re settling down. But around the two minute mark, things begin to pick up, slowly and subtly. And by minute three, the track has hit its melancholic peak – ironically, it feels like standing on the top of a mountain and finally seeing the full picture. It’s peaceful, emotional, and ultimately accepting. On The Sad God,” which serves as the true conclusion, “No more mountain, no more song,” Albarn sings, with music that sounds like a synth version of a slow dance song you’d hear in the 1950s, all while weaving in the same melody from the title track. It’s maybe one of the best album closers I’ve ever heard.
“The Mountain” feels like a great reminder as to what makes human-made art so special. Part of that might be because a lot of art these days feels so disposable. From the short film being done in an analog animation style that’s largely been discontinued (due to its high labor cost), to Albarn swapping out some of their infamous electronic sounds for a blend between digital and analog, to tastefully paying respects to the deceased in the feature list, this album feels like a great example of why art made by humans will always remain infinitely more special than anything AI could make. And if this is the album made as a tribute for Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn’s late fathers, I think they did a pretty damn good job honoring their memory and legacies, all while setting the bar high for future artists.
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