Review: The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen': Aidin Vaziri | Damon Albarn is unstoppable. After conquering the pop charts with his cartoon band Gorillaz, the Blur front man scores again with this one-off dream project featuring former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, the Verve's Simon Tong and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen ("the most important musician of the past 50 years," reckons Brian Eno). Produced by Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse, "The Good, the Bad & the Queen" is a lot more muted than you might expect from a group of this caliber, conceding only a few melodies that rise above the cinematic mood pieces. Call it hazy listening. Languid bass lines, subtle Afrobeat rhythms and barrelhouse piano rolls paint a rainy-day picture of modern London: "Drink all day because the country is at war," Albarn sings. It's the sound of defeat in the throes of victory.
posted by Aidin at Sunday, February 25, 2007
<< Home