Gorillaz – Song Machine Season One

Starting out at the beginning of 2020 Gorillaz teased their fans for months with new songs and accompanying videos, all leading to the Autumn album 'Song Machine Season One'. An outstanding collaborative piece put together through quarantine the record is less a crafted collection and more a compendium of tracks that lean into the next generation of music lovers with familiar ease. Whereas 'Humanz' felt a little claustrophobic with it's guest list and number of tracks 'Song Machine' is far more relaxed in its effort, allowing the band much more obvious input in places. By far the stand out tracks include many of the ones we'd already seen over the course of the year, but the deep cuts still have a part to play, making their appearance a welcome change of pace to such grooves as 'Pac-Man' and 'Momentary Bliss'.
This version comes with a bonus disc of 6 tracks, making the full release 17 songs long. It's pretty clear that throughout the studio sessions of 'Song Machine' there were some tunes that were stronger than others, and the ones that didn't make the cut were placed on this CD. Granted that doesn't mean there aren't highlights here. 'With Love To An Ex' is a great little ditty that features Moonchild Sanelly in a starring role, and it's closer 'How Far' is a perfect finale to a release that seems to hark back to the group's past efforts.
If you enjoy Gorillaz in their early days you'll find this album a welcome return in many places (like with 'Aries' and 'The Lost Chord'), and for those who have enjoyed their more recent outings then the second disc will keep you sated. Will 'Song Machine' become part of a new series of Gorillaz lore? That remains to be seen, but with such a positive reception from the band's fanbase and the routine & pace Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewitt have gotten themselves in there is no doubt that Gorillaz will continue with familiar gusto.