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Feb 7, 2023Eight albums in, Gorillaz are still capable of producing a fresh, rich album that spans genres and moods, with so many different textures and sonic fabrics that they have cultivated a musical universe of their own.
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Feb 21, 2023Yes, goddam it, Cracker Island is as good as Demon Days.
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Feb 27, 2023Balancing bright, colorful electro-pop with a slight air of melancholy is hardly a new trick for Albarn yet there's a clean, efficient energy propelling Cracker Island that gives the album a fresh pulse.
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Feb 27, 2023This is, simultaneously, a very Albarn-forward, state-of-the-world Gorillaz record, and one packed with guests channelling different energies.
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Feb 24, 2023Thirty years on, Albarn sounds just as dissatisfied with the state of the modern world, yet he still appears to have at least a cartoon finger on its pulse.
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Feb 23, 2023Allowing themselves to become fully engulfed by their own creation created a creative energy that bursts through the LP, conjuring up a listening experience that requires you to close your eyes and surrender to the uncompromising vision of Gorillaz.
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Feb 23, 2023Signs that Cracker Island is designed to be a summer album sizzle though the heat-haze synths of “Silent Running” (featuring soulful contributions from Adeleye Omotayo) and the hip-sloshing dancefloor pulse of “New Gold” (feat Tame Impala and Bootie Brown).
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Feb 23, 2023There’s no broad concept or industry-busting roll-out, just 10 pristine, richly satisfying tracks; no more, no less.
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Feb 23, 2023Divorced from cartoon alter egos, big concepts and Albarn’s apparently limitless power to persuade big stars to do his bidding, it reveals itself as that most prosaic of things: a fantastic pop album.
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Feb 22, 2023‘Possession Island’ aside, this is an energetic, upbeat, genre-expansive collection that ranks alongside Gorillaz’ best work.
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Feb 22, 2023‘Cracker Island’ is very much a set piece that prioritises concept and narrative, resulting in one of Gorillaz’s most restrained, contemplative releases yet - one that will perhaps appeal to fans of Albarn’s solo work more than devotees of his monkeys’ more genre-hopping forays.
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Feb 21, 2023It’s the easiest-going and most purely pleasurable Gorillaz album since their opening one-two punch, 20-some years ago. Guests feel purposeful, filtered into the indie-funk melange with ease.
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UncutFeb 15, 2023Mostly Cracker Island maintains Gorillaz' 23-year-old comic-book conceit. The 2D band make ageless pop that shapeshifts to suit the era, be it the sunny reggaeton of "Tormenta" (featuring Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny) or the dreamy AOR of "Oil" (featuring Stevie Nicks). [Apr 2023, p.28]
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MojoFeb 7, 2023The likes of Beck and Stevie Nicks play supportive rather than starring roles, and the sonic flavours here recall the noir clubby pop of Humanz (2017). The woofer-pumping reggaeton of Tormenta however sees Albarn step aside to let Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny shine. [Mar 2023, p.85]
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Feb 7, 2023End-times prophecies have always been a part of Gorillaz’s world view, but here Damon Albarn’s lyrics allude to personal burnout. There’s something poignant about hearing Stevie Nicks’ weathered voice twin itself to Albarn’s while singing about reaching a place “when you can’t help yourself anymore and the madness come”.
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Feb 24, 2023Cracker Island is the most focused and least eclectic instalment in the band's discography — and for that reason, it absolutely breezes by.
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Feb 22, 2023While some of the guestless songs feel weaker – or at least thinner – than the collaborative works, they still fit the sonic theme and don’t rock the boat too much. Overall, this is another lovely entry into the Gorillaz discography.
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Feb 23, 2023Cracker Island is a perfectly good album made for an active audience larger and more diverse than most artistz could ever dream of having.
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Feb 23, 2023[Tormenta's] eccentric angles and willingness to take risks show up the slightly humdrum nature of much of Cracker Island, an album that walks a very thin line between playing to the band’s strengths and relying too heavily on old tricks.
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Mar 2, 2023Gorillaz was once a creative outlet that allowed Albarn to explore new territories. But Cracker Island suggests that the concept has grown stale. Those lovable animated creatures feel like they’re on an island of their own, isolated and untethered to what’s actually been churning the project forward all along.
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Feb 22, 2023It’s all here, and though it may not reach the dizzying, if somewhat bloated, heights of 2017’s Humanz, it still slaps.
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Feb 22, 2023Much like 2017’s overstuffed Humanz, Cracker Island is, more times than not, overly indebted to its impressive list of guest stars, foregrounding their talents instead of employing them as natural extensions of Albarn’s musicianship.
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Mar 2, 2023Cracker Island’s forgettable, milquetoast assembly line of tracks – though crisply and professionally engineered – proves that having it all shouldn’t always mean using it all.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 73 out of 88
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Mixed: 11 out of 88
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Negative: 4 out of 88
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Feb 25, 2023
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Feb 24, 2023Very solid and enjoyable album. Silent Running is one of the best Gorillaz songs until now. Another fantastic job from Damon Albarn.
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Mar 4, 2023An impeccable production and a unique electro rock, undoubtedly one of the best so far this year.