In so many ways The Fall feels vastly different to anything the Gorillaz have released before. It was recorded during the American leg of their 2010 Escape to Plastic Beach tour. The Fall, recorded in its entirety on Damon Albarn’s iPad, was first released in 2010 as an exclusive free download on the Gorillaz website. This week saw the release of the physical CD.
With some references to specific cities, songs themselves move through landscapes, making the album seem like a kind of travelogue of that period. The album is a trip, in every sense of that word. Each song moves from one city to the next. Each one heavily worked on to produce a sound more haunting and distant. All of it resulting in an album that takes you on a kind of interstellar road trip
Unlike the majority of their work, The Fall features practically no guest stars. One exception, “Bobby in Phoenix,” has vocals from R&B legend Bobby Womack. The pairing of Womack’s soulful blues inspired voice and the space western twang of guitars create what is perhaps the most memorable song on The Fall. This album is a much more experimental effort, suited for chill and pensive moments. It’s full of ambient sounds and echoes of faraway voices. One can’t help but think that songs like “Little Pink Plastic Bags” would serve as the perfect soundtrack to any film set in space.
The album has none of the quick paced and percussion driven pop-dance sounds that have made Gorillaz famous. I won’t deny it’s something I missed, but The Fall is a solid effort, nonetheless. It delves into new and unique territory without fear, producing something vastly different, but still very much in the spirit of the Gorillaz. The best surmise of the album comes from the band’s fictional frontman, 2D. “The Fall, is mostly just me...something more gentle and just...well...it's just me and an iPad really mucking about...trying out some stuff. Just looking at America and then tapping on the screen...”
Sarah McBride is a self-proclaimed pop-culture enthusiast. Her thoughts on music, film and life can be found at sarahism.com. You can follow her on twitter @sarahism.