With Albarn the only permanent fixture musically, Gorillaz are always a band to be in fine collaborative company; previous guest spots have been given over to De La Soul and Shaun Ryder amongst an eclectic cast of others. Previous albums have been taken the shape of an ever changing collective, made as close to real as possible by artist Jamie Hewlitt's stunning visual renderings. Here the characters of Murdoc et al are joined by hip hop visionary Mos Def and soul legend Bobby Womack on the first single to be lifted from the 2010 album 'Plastic Beach', the band's third since their eponymous debut in 2001. 'Stylo' is as ambitious and spellbinding as any of Gorillaz previous work, and sees Albarn again drawing from a scattered range of influences, in this case from Bambata era proto electro and late 70s block party hip hop in the low buzzing bassline tones that bind the tune together. Albarn’s vocals are distant and spacey, like they've been phoned in at 4am from the midst of some insomniac paranoia, yet remain lethargic and soothing across some of the most textually dark material the group have released. The relatively sparse nature of the beats underpins the three distinct vocal contributions with a wide, dreamy aesthetic while maintaining sufficient energy to captivate and hypnotize the listener. 'The Eclectic' Mos Def appears is in his trademark tight and inventive wordplay style, if only a little too briefly, while Womack's powerful commanding voice lifts 'Stylo' to some special ethereal and emotionally affecting territory. A texturally rich outing for an unpredictable and unmistakable outfit. ~David Sutheran~Copyright (c) Shazam Entertainment Limited 2010. All rights reserved

 more