Gorillaz fans wonder whether The Fall is ‘really that bad’ as listeners prepare for new album, The Mountain

Gorillaz fans waiting for the release of The Mountain were left wondering whether The Fall is “really that bad” after returning to the album.

The Damon Albarn-fronted group would release The Fall in the same year as Plastic Beach. Gorillaz’s 2010 double release may be seen as somewhat of an imbalance, with Plastic Beach considered one of the group’s very best albums. The band even performed the album in full during a show in London earlier this month. They also played their self-titled debut, Demon Days, and The Mountain in full at separate shows. Now fans are left wondering if the rest of their releases are worth visiting, with The Fall of interest to r/Gorillaz subreddit users. Some suggested there was a clear problem with the album that made it feel like nothing more than an extras compilation than a full-blown release like Plastic Beach.

One fan asked: “Is The Fall really that bad? Haven’t been a lot into Gorillaz’s lesser-known albums, but I’m just wondering what makes The Fall so bad? The highest score I’ve seen people give it was a five.” Fans have since shared their thoughts on why the album has suffered over the last fifteen years, with many believing it was never made as a project for the long term.

One listener wrote: “To the best of my knowledge, almost the entirety of the album was recorded on an iPad (and attached devices) when Damon was touring the US in or around 2010 for Plastic Beach. It’s less structured or thematic than other Gorillaz albums and interesting in the abstract, but it definitely gets less play time for me than other albums.”

Another added: “I think another factor was with the iPad being brand new at the time, there weren’t many proper music creation tools out there yet for it. The technology was nothing like we have today and I think that might’ve contributed to the ‘half-baked’ vibe the album has.”

A third agreed, suggesting GarageBand was the only real app out there for the band to use at the time. They wrote: “Yeah, at the time this came out, GarageBand was practically the only app out there to record and create music.

“It’s a really cool little album for its concept, but I think it will always be more of an interesting side project than a mainline Gorillaz entry.” Other listeners agreed the shortcomings of the iPad at the time are the main reason The Fall is not as well-remembered as perhaps it should be.

Some were full of praise for the ingenuity of using a new piece of tech so soon after release. One fan commented: “It is what it is, a man with an iPad and a short amount of time. It’s not meant to be compared to Plastic Beach, you know. It’s worth a listen, a couple of songs I like, but it wouldn’t be a record I’m putting on all the time.”

Another agreed, adding: “I dig this album. I don’t know why it gets hate. I like it more than Humanz. Also Revolving Doors is probably my favourite Gorillaz song.” A third listener went as far as to suggest it was a deeply underrated album which was still worth a listen.

They wrote: “I don’t understand the hate, honestly. The Fall is one of the most underrated Gorillaz albums imo. It’s dark, electric, melodic, and beautiful. It’s just Damon fucking around on an iPad while touring for Plastic Beach. It’s awesome and I don’t understand why fans hate it so much.”