2023 studio album by Gorillaz
Cracker Island studio album by the Britishvirtual band Gorillaz , released on 24 February 2023 viaParlophone andWarner Records . It features collaborations withStevie Nicks , Adeleye Omotayo,Thundercat ,Tame Impala ,Bad Bunny ,Bootie Brown andBeck . A deluxe edition was released with additional tracks featuringDe La Soul ,MC Bin Laden ,Del the Funky Homosapien andDawn Penn .
Cracker Island received mostly positive reviews. It debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart , making it the first Gorillaz album to reach number one in the UK sinceDemon Days Billboard 200Best Alternative Music Album at the66th Annual Grammy Awards , but lost toBoygenius 'sThe Record
The majority of the work on the album began in 2021. "Tormenta", made in collaboration withBad Bunny , was the first song completed. It was planned as the lead single for the second season of the Gorillaz web seriesSong Machine New Gold ", which became the second single).[ 5] [ 6] Damon Albarn , the co-creator of Gorillaz, the album was complete by May 2022.[ 7] Greg Kurstin , alongside British music producerRemi Kabaka Jr. [ 8] Baby Queen " was inspired by a 1997 meeting that Albarn had withPrincess Siribha Chudabhorn at a concert in Bangkok for his bandBlur .[ 9]
Five singles were released from the album. Gorillaz released the first single, "Cracker Island " (featuring bassistThundercat ), on 22 June 2022.[ 10] Meanwhile EP Cracker Island , with its release date, artwork and tracklist revealed on 31 August, alongside the release of the second single, "New Gold" (featuringTame Impala andBootie Brown ).[ 11] [ 12] Baby Queen ", was released on theFIFA 23 [ 13] [ 14] Times Square andPiccadilly Circus on 17 and 18 December, respectively.[ 15] [ 16] [ 17]
A deluxe edition ofCracker Island was released on 27 February featuring an additional five tracks: "Captain Chicken" featuringDel the Funky Homosapien (who collaborated with Gorillaz ontheir first album ), "Controllah" featuringMC Bin Laden , "Crocadillaz" featuringDe La Soul (with the lateTrugoy the Dove )[ 18] Dawn Penn , a2D piano version of "Silent Running" featuring Adeleye Omotayo, and aDom Dolla remix of "New Gold" featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown.[ 19] [ 20]
Cracker Island received generally positive reviews. OnMetacritic , which assigns anormalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, it received anaverage score of 80, based on 23 reviews, indicating generally favourable reviews.[ 22] [ 21]
ReviewingCracker Island forAllMusic ,Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "less an exploration of new sonic territory so much as it is a reaffirmation of [Damon Albarn's] strengths" and felt that "there's a clean, efficient energy propellingCracker Island that gives the album a fresh pulse."[ 3] Clash Cracker Island packs one hell of a punch and spans genres far and wide."[ 23] DIY [ 24]
InPitchfork Cracker Island "walks a very thin line between playing to the band's strengths and relying too heavily on old tricks".[ 27] Slant Magazine Tumblr -approved guests), Albarn engineers some ofCracker Island ' s most stand-out material, albeit ones that still vary greatly in quality. Songs like the Greg Kurstin-produced 'Tarantula' and 'Skinny Ape,' while still containing some unnecessary passages (most conspicuously the latter'sska breakdown), are comparatively barebones and cleanly produced. Even better is 'Baby Queen ,' a gorgeous piece ofdream-pop that cuts back on Albarn's worst theatrical tendencies."[ 29]
All tracks are written by Damon Albarn and Greg Kurstin and produced by Greg Kurstin and Gorillaz, except where noted
On vinyl releases, "Tarantula" is placed as the fourth track, between "The Tired Influencer" and "Silent Running". Credits adapted from the liner notes.
Musicians
Damon Albarn – vocals(all tracks) , synthesisers(tracks 1–7, 9–10) , electric guitar(tracks 2, 9) , piano(tracks 3–4, 7, 10) , bass, keyboards(track 8) , acoustic guitar(track 9) ,Mellotron (track 10) Greg Kurstin – keyboards(tracks 1–9) , synthesisers(tracks 1–7, 9–10) , drums(tracks 1–4, 6–7, 9) , percussion(tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9) , bass(tracks 2–7, 10) , electric guitars(tracks 3–4, 6–7, 10) , piano(tracks 3–4, 6) ,marimba (track 3) , guitars(track 5) ,vibraphone (tracks 6, 10) ,congas (track 7) , Mellotron, acoustic guitar,pump organ (track 10) Thundercat – vocals, bass(track 1) Stevie Nicks – vocals(track 2) Adeleye Omotayo – vocals(track 4) Tame Impala – vocals, synthesisers, bass, guitar, drums,Wurlitzer (track 5) Bootie Brown – vocals(track 5) Bad Bunny – vocals, keyboards, percussion(track 8) Remi Kabaka Jr. – drumprogramming , percussion(track 8) Tainy – drum programming(track 8) Beck – vocals(track 10) Technical
Damon Albarn –production Greg Kurstin –engineering (all tracks) , production(tracks 1–7, 9–10) Remi Kabaka Jr. – production(tracks 1–2, 6, 8) Kevin Parker – production, engineering(track 5) Tainy – production(track 8) Samuel Egglenton – engineering Julian Burg – engineering Matt Tuggle – engineering Henri Davies – engineering(tracks 2–3, 6, 10) Joel Workman – engineering(track 2) David Reitzas – engineering(track 5) Federico Foglia – engineering(track 5) Tim Visser – engineering(track 8) Mark "Spike" Stent –mixing Matt Wolach – mixing assistance Stephen Sedgwick – mixing assistance(track 8) Randy Merrill –mastering Artwork
Monthly chart performance forCracker Island Chart (2023) Peak Uruguayan Albums (CUD )[ 63] 2
Year-end chart performance forCracker Island Chart (2023) Position Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)[ 64] 33 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[ 65] 164 UK Cassette Albums (OCC)[ 66] 20 UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)[ 67] 18 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard )[ 68] 37
Region Certification Certified units /salesUnited Kingdom (BPI )[ 69] Silver 60,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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