CD Reviews

Gorillaz

D-Sides | EMI

By PATRICK CATES | January 7, 2008

1.5 Stars

The latest Gorillaz release was delayed until the beginning of the holiday retail rush, and it’s a butcher’s trashcan of a double-length album, a jumble of gristle, bone, and offal. The first disc is all unappetizing afterthoughts and bland B-sides: “People” is an inane, bleep-pop prototype of “Dare” that cries out for Shaun Ryder; “Rockit” is a sliver of electro rustled up in a trice and peppered lazily with London blahs in lieu of lyrics; “The Swagga” is a sugary, repetitive Nintendo end-of-level fanfare coated with Damon Albarn’s high-pitched mockney drawl. The second disc is meatier and more consistent but only by virtue of being a déjà vu ragout of remixes: both “Dare” and “Kids with Guns” are served three times with different sauces. If you’re one of the myriad of meat lovers who chomp merrily on anything, prime cut or otherwise, cooked up by Gorillaz, D-Sides will leave you licking grease from your lips. But I’m a vegetarian.