Difficult it is to get excited about new Gorillaz music after the stuffed and overbearing, collaboration-heavy Song Machine, it is hard to help it. Baby Queen is something else though. Narrative flows from Damon Albarn, this FIFA 23-featured track coming through without the need for collaboration. To their credit, Gorillaz have offered up some inspired collaborations, just the work they did on Song Machine felt for the sake of it, rather than for the sake of interesting moments. They could have marked those songs themselves. Baby Queen is an example of that. Quality Gorillaz work, their new style intact and moved on once more by Albarn and company, without any external help. It redefines the trust audiences can give to Gorillaz.
Heavy doses of synth notes and the overwhelming power of them are clear on Baby Queen. Its repetition with those few notes soon burst into a delightful little accompaniment, the repetition of the vocals switching place with the synth-like energy toward the end of the track. Without question, some of the best work Gorillaz have managed since the Plastic Beach days, but even that is not much of a high bar. What impresses most of all here are the instrumentals, even with their Stranger Things-style rise and elusive push. It is a track that, without its lyrics, would be a very generic electronic beat to put to the opening credits of an upbeat-yet-equally-tense coming-of-age film. The Perks of Being a Wallflower could have done with this, instead of desecrating David Bowie’s Heroes.
Either way, the solid mixtures lingering underneath Albarn’s voice are notable. They are nice features but it only takes a few listens to tire of them. At least the former Blur frontman can enjoy some time in the spotlight with his additions and details once the awe of the synth repetition and the hooks they provide have worn off. Baby Queen then is a thankfully endearing track that will hopefully last that little bit longer than the likes of previous album fodder tracks on Song Machine. Even with the quality on display in Baby Queen, as solid as it may be, it is hard to shake the feeling that this is what happened last time. Good singles, and an absolute horror show of an album. Hopefully, this is the turning point, but it does not feel like much of an explosion, more of an apology.
Even then, Gorillaz being back on good form is a nice sign, a pleasant one that sadly means there will be no movement in the Albarn solo career. After his piano ballad brilliance, that is a shame. At least his vocals are up to scratch on Baby Queen. Wistful, vague and naïve in all the right ways, but striking through with a confidence that comes from being part of a visually creative, equally musically well-styled band for the better half of two decades. Gorillaz may still be chasing the former highs of their earliest work, but tracks like Baby Queen are key evidence of their desire to push on through with some new and interesting bits and pieces. That they are, but it does not have the makings of a memorable classic, just something good, dry, and safe.
