The Now Now

Following the release of their 2017 album Humanz, the co-creator of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, had hinted at the possibility of a new Gorillaz album arriving sooner than expected, and said he enjoyed recording and debuting new music while on tour. He compared the spontaneous nature of this process to their 2010 album The Fall and wanted to make another record that would feel similar but more complete in comparison; he said, "if we're going to do more with Gorillaz we don't want to wait seven years because ... we're getting on a bit now". He later confirmed Gorillaz were working on another album that was scheduled for release in 2018. New songs from the album were performed during the Humanz Tour; Gorillaz debuted "Idaho" during a September 2017 concert in Seattle. In March 2018, during a concert in Santiago, the band debuted "Hollywood", which features Jamie Principle and Snoop Dogg. At this concert, Albarn stated the album had recently been finished and would soon be released. The website included a short excerpt from a new song that was later released as "Lake Zurich". On 28 May, the day after the festival ended, Emma de Caunes, the wife of Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, confirmed the album's release via Instagram. Recording began during the North American leg of the Humanz Tour in late 2017, but the majority of the album was recorded in February 2018 at Studio 13 in London. In a Radio X interview, Albarn said the album was produced within a short time so the band would have new material to play at upcoming festivals. As a byproduct of the album's expedited production, The Now Now includes fewer guest collaborators than previous Gorillaz records. ==Music and lyrics==

. According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, The Now Now includes elements of 1980s new wave and "yacht soul", which suggest the influence of disco and old-school hip-hop in Albarn's songwriting. Clash magazine described its songs as "slick, mutant funk", while Drowned in Sound noted a "breezy synth-pop style" that it compared with Gorillaz' earlier album Plastic Beach. Pitchfork described the album as "daydream funk, playful psych-pop, and up-scale disco". Corbin Reid of Uproxx said, "Stuttering synth melodies lock into and swirl around an impressive collection of different and varying drum patterns. The music doesn't knock you down as much as it washes over you like a warm, comforting wave." He also compared it to the music of Tame Impala, noting it is "maybe less psychedelic in execution and more sepia-tinged in feeling". Lily Moayeri from Under the Radar said many of the lyrics are "set in or devoted to the city of Los Angeles", adding "The Now Now gives off the impression of a tour diary". Finn from DIY called the album "A more spaced-out affair, stripped of its star-studded collaborations and bathed in the apparent apathy of the modern age". ==Release and promotion==

The Now Now was officially announced on 30 May 2018. The following day, a North American seven-date tour to promote the album beginning in October, which was part of The Now Now Tour, was announced. On 24 June, Gorillaz performed The Now Now live at the Boiler Room in Tokyo, Japan, streaming it live on YouTube. When songs from the album excluding "Humility" and "Tranz", both of which had music videos were released, visualisers for them were uploaded to YouTube. Singles On 31 May 2018, the songs "Humility", which debuted via Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio program, and "Lake Zurich", "Humility" peaked at 81 on the UK Singles Chart, at 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 7 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. On 7 June, the album's third single "Sorcererz" was released. The song was originally premiered during Gorillaz's headlining set at Rock im Park. It peaked at 36 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. it peaked at 32 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. The song was first heard at a concert in Santiago, Chile. Before the song began, Albarn said to the crowd, "If you go tell anyone that we're putting out a new album very soon, I'll deny it, cause I didn't say that. Alright?". "Hollywood" peaked at 26 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. The song peaked at 16 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. ==Reception==

Critical reception The Now Now received generally positive reviews from music critics. Review aggregator website Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, assigned the album an average score of 73, based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critics were also divided on the album's narrative. While Drowned in Sounds Conrad said the album "does very little to advance the mythology [of the band]" and thus "lacks a sense of purpose", Commercial reception The Now Now debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Gorillaz' sixth album to reach the chart's top ten. In the United States, The Now Now debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 63,000 album-equivalent units, of which 52,000 were pure album sales, becoming Gorillaz' fifth top-ten album in the United States. ==Track listing==

All tracks are written by Damon Albarn, alongside any featured artists, and produced by Gorillaz, James Ford, and Remi Kabaka. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the liner notes. Gorillaz • Damon Albarn – vocals, instrumentation, production • Jamie Hewlett – artwork, design, video direction • Junior Dan – bass • Stephen Sedgwick – mixing, engineering, recording • Karl Vanden Bossche – percussion • Remi Kabaka Jr. – production, percussion, drum programming • John Davis – mastering • Samuel Egglenton – engineering assistance • James Ford – production , drums, bass guitar , synthesiser Additional musicians • George Benson – guitar • Snoop Dogg – vocals • Jamie Principle – vocals • Abra – additional vocals • Graham Coxon – additional guitar Additional technical • Mark DeCozio – additional engineering • Stuart Lowbridge – live music co-ordination Additional artwork • Stars Redmond – assistance • Siobhan Battye – assistance ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==