‘Stylo’: Everything great about Gorillaz in one song
In 2010, Gorillaz had everything riding on their then-upcoming album, Plastic Beach, being a hit. On the surface, there was no reason for the album not to be. Their first two records, 2001’s self-titled debut and 2005’s masterpiece follow-up, Demon Days, had been colossal. After a five-year wait, during which time mainman Damon Albarn had well and truly certified his national treasure status by getting Blur back together, a new Gorillaz LP seemed just the thing to launch the virtual outfit into the stratosphere.
Thus, the sheer effort that went into Plastic Beach was legendary, with everything turned up to 11. Jamie Hewlett was given a blank cheque to do whatever he wanted with the stories and visuals. Plans were put into place to actually tour the record, which had always fallen through previously. The guest list for the record was truly ace, including Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Kano, De La Soul and everyone in between.
There was just one thing missing to light the fuse on the biggest Gorillaz album ever. Both Gorillaz and Demon Days were built on absolutely dynamite debut singles. Without ‘Clint Eastwood‘, the band would arguably not exist, and ‘Feel Good Inc’ is one of the best songs of the 2000s. Both utterly undeniable bangers with hooks for days, unforgettable choruses and guest verses that can just be called the commercial peak of both Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and De La Soul, which is saying a lot.
With the fate of an album that needed to be a smash hit, era-defining record in his hands, Albarn offered up something different. He offered up a slice of driving electro-pop, one that was built around a muffled Mos Def verse, a hushed, quivering melody from Albarn and a few improvised stanzas from a semi-obscure soul singer who had his last genuine hit in 1974, hauled into the studio last minute because they couldn’t get Barry Gibb. Oh yeah, and there was no chorus.
‘Stylo’ was, for all intents and purposes, a suicide mission. It’s a testament to the popularity of Gorillaz that it was released as the album’s lead single at all, let alone with a megabudget, Bruce Willis-starring music video to match. Had the band not had such a proven track record of hitmaking, Albarn would have probably been buried alive in a shallow grave when he played it to his record label. When the track stalled at 103 on the Billboard singles chart, it’s another miracle that a hit wasn’t put out on him anyway. What could possibly have convinced the band that the song would have worked as a single?
Fact: ‘Stylo’ is one of the best songs Gorillaz ever made
You heard me. Sure, it’s got no chorus, and yes, Mos Def sounds like he’s coming through a clapped-out car radio. Indeed, Albarn sounds like he’s singing under the impact of a nasty migraine. Yet, after a few listens, those become part of what makes ‘Stylo’ one of the most compelling things the ‘Rillaz ever put to tape. Then you get to that pulsating, irresistible bass groove that sounds like if the Bee Gees soundtracked Chinatown rather than Saturday Night Fever.
All that aside, there is precisely one man that ‘Stylo’ belongs to. Thank God Barry Gibb got that ear infection because then we wouldn’t have got the career resurrection of Bobby fucking Womack. His titanic vocals provide an intense, soul-stirring centrepiece for the whole song. The moment he swaggers into the track, howling, “If it’s love it’s electric” is one of the highpoints of the entire Gorillaz back catalogue. It’s no wonder that the man nearly passed out while recording it.
Despite that, the song is still more than the sum of its parts. Notwithstanding being so structurally averse – and I cannot stress this enough – without a chorus, it never feels aimless or wandering. ‘Stylo’ has the propulsive momentum of a Kraftwerk classic, the expert deployment of a string quartet adding drama that guides the listener to its tremendous emotional high.
On a deeper level, I feel like ‘Stylo’ has a more authentically Gorillaz vibe than the rest of their hits. Demon Days is a masterpiece that is almost self-consciously trying to be one, with everything about it tuned, tweaked and tailored for mass consumption. On the opposite end of the spectrum, their debut album is a straight-up mess outside the singles. A glorious mess for the most part, but unfocused, woolly and sometimes a little dull in the face of Damon and Jamie just trying things out for the fuck of it.
‘Stylo’ is the synthesis of both sides. A brave and fascinating creation that very few acts have ever truly sounded like, yet tuned to its absolute, unforgettable peak, with everything in the song present for a reason. What the label wanted it to be was the one thing it wasn’t. Neither was any of Plastic Beach, which was kind of a bomb at the time, even without considering that the label wanted it to be the biggest record of the year.
That’s not what art is about, though. ‘Stylo’ is a masterpiece, and the fact that it, along with the rest of Plastic Beach, has gone on to be arguably the most beloved part of the long and complex history of Gorillaz is a testament to that. The album was the jumping-on point for many a young fan of the band, and ten years later, is often cited as the high point of their whole career.
Personally, my jumping-on point was Demon Days, which has a hold on my heart that few albums have in general. Despite that, ‘Stylo’ is their greatest moment in my eyes, one that sums up everything great about Gorillaz.
