The Mountain by Gorillaz

The Mountain, Gorillaz's ninth studio album, arrived in 2026 on the band's own Kong label, the first Gorillaz record made without Parlophone, its title also written in Devanagari as parvata, Sanskrit for mountain. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's virtual band recorded across India, London and beyond, with Albarn, Remi Kabaka Jr., James Ford and Samuel Egglenton producing.

It's a record about death, grief and whatever comes after, shaped by the losses of close family that both Albarn and Hewlett suffered while making it. Indian classical instruments wind through the usual electronic and pop mix, voices come in English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Yoruba, and the guest list runs from Asha Bhosle, Anoushka Shankar and Johnny Marr to Sparks and Idles. Fittingly, departed old collaborators Bobby Womack, Tony Allen, Mark E. Smith and Dennis Hopper turn up too. Critics hailed it, and it gave them their third UK number one.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.