The Now Now by Gorillaz

The Now Now, the sixth studio album from Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's cartoon band Gorillaz, landed on Parlophone on 29 June 2018, barely a year after Humanz. Albarn started writing and recording it on the road during the Humanz Tour in late 2017 and wrapped most of it up in London in February 2018, with James Ford producing, knocking it out fast so the band would have new songs to play on the next leg.

Where Humanz was a crowded house party of guest stars, this one clears the room. It's spacey, stripped-back synth-pop with a heavy lean on 1980s new wave, with 2-D's melancholy croon (Albarn, as ever) right up front. Only three guests make the cut: George Benson on lead single "Humility", and Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle on "Hollywood". Critics mostly praised its focus and simplicity, though a few missed the old ambition. It entered the UK albums chart at number five and went one better in America, opening at four on the Billboard 200.

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