Cracker Island features many of the hallmarks one would expect to find on a Gorillaz album: varied high-profile collaborations, an overarching storyline (though one that feels more subtle than those on some of their previous seven albums), and a solid set of electronic grooves.
Gorillaz remain a leading light in alternative electronica
Highlights include their collaboration with global superstar Bad Bunny, ‘Tormenta’, which finds a nuanced balance between incorporating Bad Bunny’s reggaeton style into the album’s overall sound and establishing itself as a stylistically standout track. The following track, ‘Skinny Ape’, returns to a much more typical Gorillaz sound, journeying from the soft guitar and ethereal vocals of its opening bars, to an anarchic, high-tempo second half, and all the way back to its lullaby-esque end, which neatly mirrors the conclusion to ‘Tormenta’.
There are moments elsewhere, however, that let Cracker Island down a little. The gifts brought by their collaborators, from Thundercat’s gloopy basslines to Stevie Nicks’ bewitching vocals, are largely squandered by some odd production choices. Moreover, tracks including ‘The Tired Influencer’ and ‘Baby Queen’ are marred by an irritatingly drum-forward mix, which subjugates the vocals just enough to make it feel as if your eardrums are being flicked by the snare on every two and four.
Cracker Island is not quite a let down from Gorillaz. There are some genuinely fantastic moments, lyrically and musically, that more than warrant a listen. Nevertheless, there are equally moments that restrict the album from fulfilling its sonic potential, leaving one to wonder whether the innovative well that Gorillaz have drawn from over the past two decades is beginning to run ever so slightly dry.