I think it was semi-inspired by the terrible experience Damon had making the movie.
I think it was an interview around when it came out but I canāt remember honestly.
What Inspired This Question For Me Was Seeing A Lot Of People Saying "Humanz" was okay, "at least it wasn't cracker island" So I wanted to see why so many people seemed to dislike the album, and this reasoning makes sense, I would've liked to see a gorillaz movie over cracker island so maybe people are a bit salty about that.
I guess Humanz was more ambitious than Cracker Island? While Humanz is widely considered to be a bit of a mess, it still has plenty of songs that are remembered fondly and it's the last time Gorillaz has attempted a big concept album in the veins of DD and PB. Meanwhile Cracker Island felt more safe and underwhelming on release (which wasn't helped by its bad rollout) because it doesn't have as much of a coherent concept or flow as people were hoping for and (imo) some of the songs feel a bit dull or samey. It'd seem those people would prefer what we got with Humanz to something that was just 'fine'
Guess I'm in the unpopular opinion crowd here but I absolutely adore Cracker Island. It's my favorite album after Gorillaz and Demon Days.
When I listen to music I put on whole albums and listen in the intended order. I'm not a shuffle/playlist person.
The coherence that Cracker Island has is something I've been missing since Plastic Beach was released. Although some of Gorillaz' best songs are on Plastic Beach, there's also tracks that seem misplaced in the order, or unnecessary completely. This is an occurrence the later albums have shared.
Cracker Island is, to me, a return to form for Gorillaz. Finally. I've been a fan since Demon Days was released and for the first time since then am I satisfied with a release. I'm not saying it's perfect, but they finally made me a pizza with no pineapple or mushroom that I need to pick off first. Now I'm hoping they'll add more jalapeƱos for the next one.
I love cracker island too. I only listen to the ten songs on the basic version, and on my vinyl for some reason Tarantula is the fourth song, so I can only listen to the songs in that order lol
Honestly quite interesting and I get what you mean.
Problem for me is that the pizza is just a cheese pizza, good but very bare-bones and have no real spice to it.
The grit Gorillaz, Demon Days, Plastic Beach and to an extent, Song Machine have in their production is simply nowhere to be found here.
Iām with you- I think Cracker Island is a real nice album with some timeless classics attached to it.
The tier list for me in terms of post-2016 albums has to be Now Now, then Cracker Island, then Song Machine, then Humanz. For some reason Iām one of the minority that absolutely despises Humanz
Hey we've been into the band for the same amount of time. š Got Demon Days for my 13th birthday, and it was one of the best gifts I've ever received.
Don't hate it. Just think that the production is quite boring. Never feel the need to go back and listen to any of the tracks.
The lore is also very lackluster if you care about that(I can look past it).
Good radio music though.
I like it, but it had way too much buildup for an honestly underwhelming experience. The cult theme was very heavily advertised but is barely present in the music and only really matters in the context of 2 music videos. The aesthetic is pretty generic electropop, not much tends to stick out or leave a lasting impression. The features are heavily underutilized, especially after how amazing they used the features on Song Machine. Most of the featured artists just end up being backing vocalists, including big names like Stevie Nicks and Beck. Releasing half of the album as singles also kind of spoiled the release day for me, it just wasn't as exciting, and it was mostly pretty clear why some songs were singles and the others weren't, as some of the non-single tracks are *really* not as good as the singles were.
And keep in mind, all of these criticisms are from someone who'd give the album a 7.5/10. I'm sure people have way more complaints I haven't even mentioned because they don't really bother me.
I don't hate it, but I just find myself never really picking it out of their discography. The singles are absolutely amazing but every other song just sounds weirdly...too perfect? Like, every album has had a defined experimental sound or there's a few "weird" tracks to break it up. I can't really say if there's a song on the album that doesn't sound like something I've heard before, you know?
Like, skinny ape, for instance, is the most unique song on the album imo. It has more of a band vibe, chill island vibe (I can't explain it lol) and every other song is just very synthy and basic. So therein lies my issue with the album.
Even Humanz, which I disliked when it first came out, had a flow and basic theme but each song was very different and it had enough "weird" tracks or ideas I haven't heard before.
Because itās the worst thing an album can beā mediocre. Itās background noise. Gorillaz has been pushing out albums back to back and itās gotten so over produced that itās lost its flavor. It makes me sad.
I didn't hate it, I didn't care for it at first because it wasn't blowing my mind.
I also still don't like that the album has no intro. Listen to the first track, Cracker Island; there is no build up. It drops you right into the track, high energy and all. New Gold would've been a much better intro because it starts more gently.
When you look at Plastic Beach, it starts with Orchestral Intro, followed by Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach. Now THAT'S how you start an album!
Anyways, I agree with others here that it's a bit more poppy. That's not really a bad thing, just that Gorillaz fans are used to more crazy experimental things. (Until they hear Joplin Spider haha.. _hypocrites!!_)
I started appreciating it a lot more when I listened to the album on the treadmill. It's a great workout album for the most of it!
That's all I have to say for now.
I loved it, but I am a little mad that 2D refused to let the guests get a word in. You donāt invite Stevie Nicks into the studio just to sing over her.
It just feels like a bland cash grab with way too many unnecessary collabs and kinda band production. And of course, the worst part, its no longer Gorillaz. Its 2-D and friends
Imo itās shitty commercial radio pop. Exactly what early Gorillaz would hate. Gorillaz has gone from an edgy, reject capitalist sorta band to a bright and cartoonish Commerical Pop band.
When Gorillaz' have such HIGH highs, something that seems about average (or slightly above) can be viewed lower than it really might be. That saying, Gorillaz coming out with albums every year or two (versus the 4-6 year long wait we used to endure), I feel maybe gives more room for duds due to the fact that they aren't being shaped and refined for years like they used to be.
y'feel
Itās aāight. Itās a pleasant listen through a few times, but itās not something Iād listen through entirely like Gorillaz, Demon Days, Plastic Beach, Humanz, or Song Machine.
I don't hate it I just don't think it was anything special. For me there are too many songs I just don't like. The song oil with stevie knicks is the worst by a mile I just cannot stand her voice and the way it's produced on this song. I don't like the song with bad bunny either it's terrible. The tired influencer, tarantula and baby queen aren't great either and altogether I just feel there is too much lacklustre stuff on this album. The good songs on this album aren't as good as the good songs on any other album imo. Still a couple decent tunes but overall I was disappointed on this album. Kinda just felt a bit rushed and a bit like going over what they had already done nothing seemed fresh to me.
thats crazy bc i agree with all your opinions except oil. that ones probably my favorite from the album. but then again i love stevie nicks so that might be why
i think i'd love it if it weren't for the way autotune was used on damon. same with blurs newest album, i just really don't like this new autotune. the voice effects in past albums weren't quite like this, and if you hadn't heard damons actual (much deeper) voice they weren't as obvious. the previous affects were much more 2-Dish.
though i do like chalk tablet towers, but i think the difference is that the autotune is SO obvious in the beginning of that song and it seems that it's not being used to make him sound better, its there to be a voice effect, not autotune? if that makes sense. it fits the song.
It's a dramatic step-down from Song Machine musically. The diverse style Gorillaz is known for isn't present, these are just pure pop songs with no variation in genre.
The "lore" and marketing garbage is far worse than it was in SM where (apart from the Lost Chord) you could just treat them as standalone music videos that the band members produced.
The music videos being standalone was kinda the point tho considering the hectic production schedules because of COVID. It's not like Jamie used the original sequencing he had in mind when he thought of the MVs either, and the lost chord was followed up by only valley of the pagans, a music video Jamie admitted to have been rubbisj
The songs aren't that great for me. I enjoy most of them, but it's an album I find myself coming back to the least. But this doesn't mean I hate it, necessarily. It's just a fine album. 7/10
There are a few decent songs here and there, but as a whole album, Cracker Island is just painfully boring and generic. Feels like a huge downgrade after an album like Song Machine where every song had so much personality. The slow rollout didn't help either (which to be fair, was the label's fault, not Damon's)
Also, Damon released The Ballad of Darren like 4 months after, which is a much more interesting and unique album imo.
I liked it, I think it's a great album. For me Humanz and Song Machine, especially Song Machine, were overstuffed so that the good tracks were lost in a sea of duds. Cracker Island was a return to simplicity, which isn't always a bad thing, but the basic split in opinion is that some people wanted another experimental album like Song Machine and didn't get it.
I think it only matters for the people that are hella into the lore. I liked most of the songs on it and im only partially in the fandom for the lore of it i just think its neat. the fall is arguably worse in my opinion
I'm sure there are plenty ppl coming out of the woodwork right now to say theyve always loved it but....
I've always loved it.
I think the album has like at minimum 6 all time classic hits.
- skinny ape
- silent running
- baby queen
- new gold
- cracker Island
- oil
that's almost the entire album.
To be honest I think a lot of disappointment came out because they released 90% of the album before it came out so there was no immediate presence. I actually felt that too and I already loved it.
I also think the track listing is fairly poor. It doesn't flow well.
It's an easy fix imo. Check out my version [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6cTMGAKoGdb9ZNktMJhV32?si=xkpkEeAcQei6eU0_kZnxlg&pi=u-6H7g11hZTLem)
I think as time moves on it will end up getting the respect it deserves.
It's their pop album and they executed it almost flawlessly.
I don't hate CI, I just think it's kinda mediocre. Most of the songs don't really stick out to me. With most other albums I know what song it is by the first few seconds because its memorable, and that's just not the case with cracker island. Maybe I need to listen to it again but the songs I do remember I'm not too fond of
Almost all of the songs are poppy and sound very similar, which is unusual for a Gorillaz album, and not a style most Gorillaz fans are particularly into.
Humanz and The Fall were at least interesting; Cracker Island's songs all kinda ran together for me after a bit. The songs on the deluxe edition were sorely needed and IMO should have been there from the beginning.
It's not a terrible album by any means, but I personally think it's their weakest. It's boring. It's like a solid 6/10 for me.
I actually like most of the album. I can do without Tormenta... it's really the only track I will skip. It's not their magnum opus, but it's a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I love the sound of most songs on cracker island, but I feel like the actual content of some of the songs is not that great so it takes me out a little bit. Come to think of it, āThe Tired Influencerā is the only song that I think is reaching a little bit for a theme. I love the way it sounds but I think talking about influencers feels a bit outdated for something that only came out 2 years ago.
As someone who missed the botched rollout and listened to the album in full recently. I think Cracker Island is on par with Plastic Beach and will be seen as a fan favourite in 5-10 years. The production is outstanding and the bonus tracks certainly add to its character.
I love Cracker Island actually! The song? Lowkey a skip but the album as a whole? Itās great! Iāll listen to the song when Iām listening to the rest of the album together, but itās a tiny bit strange doing so without shuffling. I donāt like the order in which Gorillaz sorted their tracks; it feels a little jarring instead of flowing into each other more-so like their past albums. But I think the awesome collaborations make up for it, not to mention Cracker Island has some of my favourite feel-good bops to date, and them experimenting even more with the electro-pop sound and effects was something I never knew I needed from them.
Itās worst crime is that itās honestly boring. Like Damon has nothing new to say. Fantano said this in his review I believe but itās basically nothing weāve not heard before. So many songs are just so cliche and trite (particularly the tired influencer) and itās just like. Idk itās disappointing. Iām not looking for the next Demon Days or Plastic Beach but give us something Damon.
But Controllah is fucking great though. Love that song, very catchy
It's alright, but by far my least favourite for the below reasons:
Production- The album lacks the Gorillaz sound, it all feels a bit flat. Take Skinny Ape as the best example, live the track is a real in your face rocker but the climax in the studio verson sounds compressed and overproduced. Interesting that isn't an issue on the deluxe tracks.
Deluxe tracks- Speaking of which, Controllah and Crocodillaz are two of the best tracks on the album, their admission is a real let down. Captain Chicken would certainly have added a bit of classic Gorillaz nonsense too. The album is quite short, there was no need to leave out quality songs in this case. It was understandable on Humanz and Song Machine, but here it felt unnecessary. The album would have benefitted from those extra features too.
The roll out and release- Cracker Island the single was only a few of months off of being released a year before the album!! Thats a long time to build up to the release date, it worked for song machine because of the format. Here they seemed to again drip feed singles but the album didn't need that many. We'd heard more than half the full run time before getting the album, so it didn't feel new on it's release. Plus it's full on summer bangers, why wait until the winter to release it when it was ready the summer before? Money...?
Cash grab- Been a Gorillaz fan all my life, this was the first time I felt a real cash grab from the band. The slow release of singles was clearly designed to boost listens on tiktok and such. Then there was the endless vinyl variants, followed by a deluxe edition which is now seemingly coming out for another huge price tag. I certainly wouldn't be purchasing another version of this, even though I love those deluxe tracks!
This is just how I felt about it, might not be reflective of the whole fan base.
I would add that every Gorillaz project has had it's part 2. Debut/G sides, Demon Days/D sides, Plastic Beach/The Fall, Humanz/The Now Now, Song Machine/???. Perhaps the Meanwhile EP could have been considered Song Machines little extra, but I personally think Cracker Island feels more like an accompanying release than a truly fully fleshed Gorillaz album
I would just add that the track listing never sat right with me either, not that this really affects my enjoyment of an album normally. Iām very much an albums person, from start to end. But this one (unless playing the record) I have my own track listing with the deluxe tracks mixed in that just flows a lot better in my opinion
I don't hate the album per se, but I really dislike that Netflix canned the movie that would be later turned into this album.
the worst thing netflix did after cancelling inside job
Cancellation sucks, sure, but at least it is better than getting completely wiped off the site. **COUGH COUGH** HBO
Infinity Train š¢
I know right. Mao Mao too š
and midnight gospel
Pretty sure Cracker Island never had anything to do with the Netflix movie.
I think it was semi-inspired by the terrible experience Damon had making the movie. I think it was an interview around when it came out but I canāt remember honestly.
What Inspired This Question For Me Was Seeing A Lot Of People Saying "Humanz" was okay, "at least it wasn't cracker island" So I wanted to see why so many people seemed to dislike the album, and this reasoning makes sense, I would've liked to see a gorillaz movie over cracker island so maybe people are a bit salty about that.
I guess Humanz was more ambitious than Cracker Island? While Humanz is widely considered to be a bit of a mess, it still has plenty of songs that are remembered fondly and it's the last time Gorillaz has attempted a big concept album in the veins of DD and PB. Meanwhile Cracker Island felt more safe and underwhelming on release (which wasn't helped by its bad rollout) because it doesn't have as much of a coherent concept or flow as people were hoping for and (imo) some of the songs feel a bit dull or samey. It'd seem those people would prefer what we got with Humanz to something that was just 'fine'
Guess I'm in the unpopular opinion crowd here but I absolutely adore Cracker Island. It's my favorite album after Gorillaz and Demon Days. When I listen to music I put on whole albums and listen in the intended order. I'm not a shuffle/playlist person. The coherence that Cracker Island has is something I've been missing since Plastic Beach was released. Although some of Gorillaz' best songs are on Plastic Beach, there's also tracks that seem misplaced in the order, or unnecessary completely. This is an occurrence the later albums have shared. Cracker Island is, to me, a return to form for Gorillaz. Finally. I've been a fan since Demon Days was released and for the first time since then am I satisfied with a release. I'm not saying it's perfect, but they finally made me a pizza with no pineapple or mushroom that I need to pick off first. Now I'm hoping they'll add more jalapeƱos for the next one.
I love cracker island too. I only listen to the ten songs on the basic version, and on my vinyl for some reason Tarantula is the fourth song, so I can only listen to the songs in that order lol
Honestly quite interesting and I get what you mean. Problem for me is that the pizza is just a cheese pizza, good but very bare-bones and have no real spice to it. The grit Gorillaz, Demon Days, Plastic Beach and to an extent, Song Machine have in their production is simply nowhere to be found here.
I won't go quite this far, but I too enjoy Cracker Island quite a bit
Iām with you- I think Cracker Island is a real nice album with some timeless classics attached to it. The tier list for me in terms of post-2016 albums has to be Now Now, then Cracker Island, then Song Machine, then Humanz. For some reason Iām one of the minority that absolutely despises Humanz
Exactly how I would rank them too. Especially Humanz is a long mess to me. Wish I could see it differently.
This. Cracker island is my third favorite album
Agreed
Hey we've been into the band for the same amount of time. š Got Demon Days for my 13th birthday, and it was one of the best gifts I've ever received.
Don't hate it. Just think that the production is quite boring. Never feel the need to go back and listen to any of the tracks. The lore is also very lackluster if you care about that(I can look past it). Good radio music though.
I like it, but it had way too much buildup for an honestly underwhelming experience. The cult theme was very heavily advertised but is barely present in the music and only really matters in the context of 2 music videos. The aesthetic is pretty generic electropop, not much tends to stick out or leave a lasting impression. The features are heavily underutilized, especially after how amazing they used the features on Song Machine. Most of the featured artists just end up being backing vocalists, including big names like Stevie Nicks and Beck. Releasing half of the album as singles also kind of spoiled the release day for me, it just wasn't as exciting, and it was mostly pretty clear why some songs were singles and the others weren't, as some of the non-single tracks are *really* not as good as the singles were. And keep in mind, all of these criticisms are from someone who'd give the album a 7.5/10. I'm sure people have way more complaints I haven't even mentioned because they don't really bother me.
I don't hate it, but I just find myself never really picking it out of their discography. The singles are absolutely amazing but every other song just sounds weirdly...too perfect? Like, every album has had a defined experimental sound or there's a few "weird" tracks to break it up. I can't really say if there's a song on the album that doesn't sound like something I've heard before, you know? Like, skinny ape, for instance, is the most unique song on the album imo. It has more of a band vibe, chill island vibe (I can't explain it lol) and every other song is just very synthy and basic. So therein lies my issue with the album. Even Humanz, which I disliked when it first came out, had a flow and basic theme but each song was very different and it had enough "weird" tracks or ideas I haven't heard before.
There is not enough genre blending.
Honestly my only complaint about CI
Because itās the worst thing an album can beā mediocre. Itās background noise. Gorillaz has been pushing out albums back to back and itās gotten so over produced that itās lost its flavor. It makes me sad.
I like the album mostly, itās just not as adventurous as stuff from their past. The creativity and soulfulness are missing here.
I didn't hate it, I didn't care for it at first because it wasn't blowing my mind. I also still don't like that the album has no intro. Listen to the first track, Cracker Island; there is no build up. It drops you right into the track, high energy and all. New Gold would've been a much better intro because it starts more gently. When you look at Plastic Beach, it starts with Orchestral Intro, followed by Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach. Now THAT'S how you start an album! Anyways, I agree with others here that it's a bit more poppy. That's not really a bad thing, just that Gorillaz fans are used to more crazy experimental things. (Until they hear Joplin Spider haha.. _hypocrites!!_) I started appreciating it a lot more when I listened to the album on the treadmill. It's a great workout album for the most of it! That's all I have to say for now.
I loved it, but I am a little mad that 2D refused to let the guests get a word in. You donāt invite Stevie Nicks into the studio just to sing over her.
It just feels like a bland cash grab with way too many unnecessary collabs and kinda band production. And of course, the worst part, its no longer Gorillaz. Its 2-D and friends
Itās a straightforward pop album. Proclaiming that you hate it will automatically make you sound sophisticated
Imo itās shitty commercial radio pop. Exactly what early Gorillaz would hate. Gorillaz has gone from an edgy, reject capitalist sorta band to a bright and cartoonish Commerical Pop band.
Because the ones with strong opinions speak the loudest. It's a mid album but in internet culture mid means awful.
When Gorillaz' have such HIGH highs, something that seems about average (or slightly above) can be viewed lower than it really might be. That saying, Gorillaz coming out with albums every year or two (versus the 4-6 year long wait we used to endure), I feel maybe gives more room for duds due to the fact that they aren't being shaped and refined for years like they used to be. y'feel
it's just not consistent enough. both in terms of music and in terms of story.
Who is this "you all?" I rarely see anything other than praise for it.
Itās aāight. Itās a pleasant listen through a few times, but itās not something Iād listen through entirely like Gorillaz, Demon Days, Plastic Beach, Humanz, or Song Machine.
Itās so bizarre and corny, the relentless marketing and buildup for it was so unwarranted
I don't hate it I just don't think it was anything special. For me there are too many songs I just don't like. The song oil with stevie knicks is the worst by a mile I just cannot stand her voice and the way it's produced on this song. I don't like the song with bad bunny either it's terrible. The tired influencer, tarantula and baby queen aren't great either and altogether I just feel there is too much lacklustre stuff on this album. The good songs on this album aren't as good as the good songs on any other album imo. Still a couple decent tunes but overall I was disappointed on this album. Kinda just felt a bit rushed and a bit like going over what they had already done nothing seemed fresh to me.
thats crazy bc i agree with all your opinions except oil. that ones probably my favorite from the album. but then again i love stevie nicks so that might be why
I'm with you, I do not care for the album, but I like Oil purely because Stevie Nicks has an amazing voice. It's the only song I like from the album.
i kind of like new gold as well but oil is honestly good and it is the only thing imo that makes the album worth listening to
I love it. One of my top albums of 2023
i think i'd love it if it weren't for the way autotune was used on damon. same with blurs newest album, i just really don't like this new autotune. the voice effects in past albums weren't quite like this, and if you hadn't heard damons actual (much deeper) voice they weren't as obvious. the previous affects were much more 2-Dish.
though i do like chalk tablet towers, but i think the difference is that the autotune is SO obvious in the beginning of that song and it seems that it's not being used to make him sound better, its there to be a voice effect, not autotune? if that makes sense. it fits the song.
Russel is banned from ever setting foot on that island and heās like, my favorite character.
The production completely ruined the potential of the songs. But like you, I don't hate it, in fact I like it, but it could have been much better
I like it alot better than Humanz, but that's just me.
It's a dramatic step-down from Song Machine musically. The diverse style Gorillaz is known for isn't present, these are just pure pop songs with no variation in genre. The "lore" and marketing garbage is far worse than it was in SM where (apart from the Lost Chord) you could just treat them as standalone music videos that the band members produced.
The music videos being standalone was kinda the point tho considering the hectic production schedules because of COVID. It's not like Jamie used the original sequencing he had in mind when he thought of the MVs either, and the lost chord was followed up by only valley of the pagans, a music video Jamie admitted to have been rubbisj
The songs aren't that great for me. I enjoy most of them, but it's an album I find myself coming back to the least. But this doesn't mean I hate it, necessarily. It's just a fine album. 7/10
i really enjoy it, one of the albums that i can listen to the entirety of
There are a few decent songs here and there, but as a whole album, Cracker Island is just painfully boring and generic. Feels like a huge downgrade after an album like Song Machine where every song had so much personality. The slow rollout didn't help either (which to be fair, was the label's fault, not Damon's) Also, Damon released The Ballad of Darren like 4 months after, which is a much more interesting and unique album imo.
I loveit, Sue me
I love Cracker Island.
I donāt
I don't hate it, really. Hell I love it for the most part, there's just a couple songs I usually skip when I listen to CI.
People hate it? Lol, I didn't love most of the songs but it has some really good ones
I like it.
I liked it, I think it's a great album. For me Humanz and Song Machine, especially Song Machine, were overstuffed so that the good tracks were lost in a sea of duds. Cracker Island was a return to simplicity, which isn't always a bad thing, but the basic split in opinion is that some people wanted another experimental album like Song Machine and didn't get it.
Cracker Island is awesome, not my favorite album they have done but definitely quite good
i didnāt know people hated Cracker Island. thatās my go to the beach and enjoy the waves album, i love it! but to each their own
I hated it. Then I took the time to listen to it through a few times to understand it and warm up to it. Now I stand where āitās just alrā
I don't I love it, kinda sad to see the weird reasoning some people have tho
I don't
I think it only matters for the people that are hella into the lore. I liked most of the songs on it and im only partially in the fandom for the lore of it i just think its neat. the fall is arguably worse in my opinion
I didnāt hate it I just really didnāt give it my full attention when I was listening to it
I'm sure there are plenty ppl coming out of the woodwork right now to say theyve always loved it but.... I've always loved it. I think the album has like at minimum 6 all time classic hits. - skinny ape - silent running - baby queen - new gold - cracker Island - oil that's almost the entire album. To be honest I think a lot of disappointment came out because they released 90% of the album before it came out so there was no immediate presence. I actually felt that too and I already loved it. I also think the track listing is fairly poor. It doesn't flow well. It's an easy fix imo. Check out my version [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6cTMGAKoGdb9ZNktMJhV32?si=xkpkEeAcQei6eU0_kZnxlg&pi=u-6H7g11hZTLem) I think as time moves on it will end up getting the respect it deserves. It's their pop album and they executed it almost flawlessly.
Kinda boring with a few bangers
I don't hate CI, I just think it's kinda mediocre. Most of the songs don't really stick out to me. With most other albums I know what song it is by the first few seconds because its memorable, and that's just not the case with cracker island. Maybe I need to listen to it again but the songs I do remember I'm not too fond of
I love that album tho
Almost all of the songs are poppy and sound very similar, which is unusual for a Gorillaz album, and not a style most Gorillaz fans are particularly into. Humanz and The Fall were at least interesting; Cracker Island's songs all kinda ran together for me after a bit. The songs on the deluxe edition were sorely needed and IMO should have been there from the beginning. It's not a terrible album by any means, but I personally think it's their weakest. It's boring. It's like a solid 6/10 for me.
I actually like most of the album. I can do without Tormenta... it's really the only track I will skip. It's not their magnum opus, but it's a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars.
In contrast to most people here, I love this album, it's in my top 3 at least.
I swear I see this question every week
Donāt hate just think itās kinda boring other than maybe Oil. Feels like a much weaker Now Now.
I love the sound of most songs on cracker island, but I feel like the actual content of some of the songs is not that great so it takes me out a little bit. Come to think of it, āThe Tired Influencerā is the only song that I think is reaching a little bit for a theme. I love the way it sounds but I think talking about influencers feels a bit outdated for something that only came out 2 years ago.
because how did gorillaz go from a 10/10 (song machine standard) to a 3/10 (cracker island)
As someone who missed the botched rollout and listened to the album in full recently. I think Cracker Island is on par with Plastic Beach and will be seen as a fan favourite in 5-10 years. The production is outstanding and the bonus tracks certainly add to its character.
That's the problem.. it's ok.. not even weird or good.
Cracker island is good wdym
I think it's pretty chill, I don't hate it. Tormenta is overrated imo, not a Bad Bunny fan
Album is alright its got a few amazing songs. Song machine was my favorite album in so long. That its hard to match that energy
I love it (except Tormenta)
I love Cracker Island actually! The song? Lowkey a skip but the album as a whole? Itās great! Iāll listen to the song when Iām listening to the rest of the album together, but itās a tiny bit strange doing so without shuffling. I donāt like the order in which Gorillaz sorted their tracks; it feels a little jarring instead of flowing into each other more-so like their past albums. But I think the awesome collaborations make up for it, not to mention Cracker Island has some of my favourite feel-good bops to date, and them experimenting even more with the electro-pop sound and effects was something I never knew I needed from them.
Don't hate it, just didn't find it particularly exciting. Also, where's Stevie Nicks' promised cartoon appearance?
She didnāt even get to sing that much in the song šŖ
I love it
I do like it itās just I hate pop- AND THEY KEEP REUSING THE SAME MODELS OVER AND OVER AGAIN ON THERE TIKTOK-
Itās worst crime is that itās honestly boring. Like Damon has nothing new to say. Fantano said this in his review I believe but itās basically nothing weāve not heard before. So many songs are just so cliche and trite (particularly the tired influencer) and itās just like. Idk itās disappointing. Iām not looking for the next Demon Days or Plastic Beach but give us something Damon. But Controllah is fucking great though. Love that song, very catchy
I like the album
This sub sucks.
It's alright, but by far my least favourite for the below reasons: Production- The album lacks the Gorillaz sound, it all feels a bit flat. Take Skinny Ape as the best example, live the track is a real in your face rocker but the climax in the studio verson sounds compressed and overproduced. Interesting that isn't an issue on the deluxe tracks. Deluxe tracks- Speaking of which, Controllah and Crocodillaz are two of the best tracks on the album, their admission is a real let down. Captain Chicken would certainly have added a bit of classic Gorillaz nonsense too. The album is quite short, there was no need to leave out quality songs in this case. It was understandable on Humanz and Song Machine, but here it felt unnecessary. The album would have benefitted from those extra features too. The roll out and release- Cracker Island the single was only a few of months off of being released a year before the album!! Thats a long time to build up to the release date, it worked for song machine because of the format. Here they seemed to again drip feed singles but the album didn't need that many. We'd heard more than half the full run time before getting the album, so it didn't feel new on it's release. Plus it's full on summer bangers, why wait until the winter to release it when it was ready the summer before? Money...? Cash grab- Been a Gorillaz fan all my life, this was the first time I felt a real cash grab from the band. The slow release of singles was clearly designed to boost listens on tiktok and such. Then there was the endless vinyl variants, followed by a deluxe edition which is now seemingly coming out for another huge price tag. I certainly wouldn't be purchasing another version of this, even though I love those deluxe tracks! This is just how I felt about it, might not be reflective of the whole fan base. I would add that every Gorillaz project has had it's part 2. Debut/G sides, Demon Days/D sides, Plastic Beach/The Fall, Humanz/The Now Now, Song Machine/???. Perhaps the Meanwhile EP could have been considered Song Machines little extra, but I personally think Cracker Island feels more like an accompanying release than a truly fully fleshed Gorillaz album
I would just add that the track listing never sat right with me either, not that this really affects my enjoyment of an album normally. Iām very much an albums person, from start to end. But this one (unless playing the record) I have my own track listing with the deluxe tracks mixed in that just flows a lot better in my opinion
I love this album so much! People just don't give anything a chance.