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Eight Albums in, The Gorillaz Universe Is Still Expanding

Damon Albarn and his virtual crew once again outdo themselves on Cracker Island

Something about Damon Albarn examining the intersection of technology and art through the prism of a literal virtual band just works too well. Gorillaz are still going strong after over two decades as a group, and their eighth album Cracker Island (out Friday, February 24th), shows the British band going from strength to strength; they are a full-on genre-shifting machine whose very existence is already an exploration about the dangers that come from our online and physical worlds overlapping. Using Gorillaz as a medium to probe these very ideas in Cracker Island is something almost meta; but this has been the essence of the band from the start.

Gorillaz have never been regarded as an Albarn “side-project” from his Britpop band Blur, as the two groups are already fully-fledged entities within their own right. With star-studded appearances from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, and Beck, Cracker Island is yet another audacious, vibrant effort from the band.