8.8
Damon Albarn is at a point in his career where he is musically losing his mind. He's recorded all genres between his band work and solo recordings, and assembled every combination of instrumentation one could dream of. This newest release sounds like an exhausted musician pulling away from any preconceived aspirations, yet the music is as innovative as ever. It's full of 'sounds' flying in and out, a very Salvador Dali-esque picture is painted, sounds of flying accordions and squeaking violins, obscure samples and sound effects, centered around Albarn and his acoustic guitar. It's a more mellow record than his previous releases. The mix of acoustic guitar ballads and psychedelic production trickery is impressive. It's hard to guess if he's been working on this album for many years, or does he write this much music, as prolific as anyone. It seems every year, Albarn is releasing a different project. Nevertheless, Everyday Robots stands out from the rest. The idea of Damon Albarn isolated in a studio churning out these tracks, playing everything himself, is brilliant! Perhaps he needed to get this out of his system, to move forward with that new Blur record we've all been waiting for. We'll see...
