Like a cartoon sunrise over a cartoon landscape, with cartoon revellers firing celebratory cartoon fireworks, the cartoon band known as Gorillaz have revealed details of their third album. Plastic Beach, helmed once again by Blur's Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, will be released on 8 March.
Whereas their 2001 LP was an introduction to the Gorillaz's daft universe, and 2005's Demon Days showed them hanging-out post-apocalypse, the new album tells the story of Plastic Beach HQ, "a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific". "This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth," according to a press release. "Made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity ... [it's] the most deserted spot on the planet."
Already, Gorillaz fans can sample the lead single from Plastic Beach, Stylo. The song is a surprisingly dour slice of space-disco, with cameos by rapper Mos Def and a hot-and-bothered Bobby Womack. Parlophone will officially release the single on 26 January.
Gorillaz are joined by artists such as Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Mark E Smith, Kano and De La Soul, as well as members of Super Furry Animals and the Clash. New York band Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music also appear.
Speaking to BBC 1Xtra last month, Mos Def explained that his Gorillaz persona is a "game vendor" called Sun Moon Stars. "There's a carnival atmosphere [at Plastic Beach]," he said, "[and I run] one of the games at this place." Mos Def called Sweepstakes, one of two songs he contributes to, "one of the greatest things that I've ever done."
Plastic Beach track list:
1 Orchestral Intro (ft. Sinfonia ViVA)
2 Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (ft. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3 White Flag (ft. Kano, Bashy, and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music)
4 Rhinestone Eyes
5 Stylo (ft. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
6 Superfast Jellyfish (ft. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
7 Empire Ants (ft. Little Dragon)
8 Glitter Freeze (ft. Mark E Smith)
9 Some Kind of Nature (ft. Lou Reed)
10 On Melancholy Hill
11 Broken
12 Sweepstakes (ft. Mos Def and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13 Plastic Beach (ft. Mick Jones and Paul Simonon)
14 To Binge (ft. Little Dragon)
15 Cloud of Unknowing (ft. Bobby Womack and Sinfonia ViVA)
16 Pirate Jet