Gorillaz share Tame Impala collaboration ‘New Gold’
After teasing a collaboration for the past few weeks, Gorillaz and Tame Impala have officially dropped their first song together, ‘New Gold’.
The new song, ‘New Gold’, also features former Far Side rapper Bootie Brown. It’s a woozy and wonky electronic track that falls right within Kevin Parker’s established signature style. As the song alternates vocals between Brown and Parker, Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn doesn’t actually appear until the track is already half done. When he does, it’s in a bleary-eyed haze of funky bass and skipping drum beats.
With collaborations like this, it’s always a bit of curiosity regarding how heavily the featured artist is involved in the song’s production. That’s especially true for Gorillaz, who are currently thriving on guest spots and outside assistance to propel Albarn into the modern age. A song like ‘New Gold’ actually sounds much closer to a Slow Rush-era Tame Impala song, right down to the drum sounds and soft bed of keyboards that hand over the song’s arrangement.
That makes it seem as though either Parker was heavily involved in writing and recording the song, or Albarn is doing a damn fine Tame Impala impression. Either way, ‘New Gold’ is a highly enjoyable track, from the stream-of-conscious raps of Brown to the singular high falsetto of Parker to the groovy beat that insistently thumps throughout the track. It’s perfect for a late summer night out, and as the seasons begin to turn, it’s time to enjoy the blistering heat of ‘New Gold’ for as long as the temperatures remain high.
The trio of Gorillaz, Tame Impala, and Bootie Brown first performed ‘New Gold’ at the All Points East festival in early August. It’s just the latest in a long line of collaborations that Gorillaz have embraced for the Song Machine project, the likes of which have brought in all-time-great talent like Robert Smith, Peter Hook, Schoolboy Q, Elton John, Beck and Thundercat.
The final two collaborators will also appear on the new album, but we’ll all have to wait a little while for the new LP as a release date of February 2023 has been announced.
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