CD: "Demon Days" by Gorillaz; Virgin Records

Release: May 24

Style: Hip-hop/rock

My take: Producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, cartoonist Jamie Hewlett and Blur lead singer Damon Albarn are Gorillaz — a collaboration marketed as the world's first virtual rock band. Albarn, along with Chris Frantz, Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto, and the Tom Tom Club's Tina Weymouth, are the voices behind the band's animated members: 2-D, the spacy vocalist and keyboardist; Murdoc, the Satanic bassist; Russel, the drummer inspired by Farrakhan who is also inclined to rapping; and Noodle, a 10-year-old Japanese guitar prodigy. They appear on the album covers, liner note artwork and music videos (though the band just had its first live performance in Manchester, England, joined by Ike Turner, Neneh Cherry, Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder and others).

The animation gimmick allotted Albarn enough anonymity to fully use his creative potential, and created an enigma that gained attention from the mainstream. Gorillaz' 2001 eponymous album spawned two big radio hits: "Clint Eastwood" and "19-2000." Catchy enough to get heavy radio airplay but eccentric enough to be accepted by fans who shun Top 40 radio, the songs helped Gorillaz establish itself in a nice little niche in audiences.

Despite the success, Nakamura left the project. Fortunately, the band was able to recruit another talented producer in the form of DJ Danger Mouse, most famous for his bootleg mash-up album of Beatles and Jay-Z songs called "The Grey Album," which was controversial enough to gain coverage on CNN. Gorillaz has also attracted guest collaborators such as De La Soul, actor Dennis Hopper and Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry.

With vision and talent pouring out of Gorillaz' producers and musicians, "Demon Days" easily defeats the dreaded sophomore slump. It spawned the radio hit, "Feel Good Inc.," with frequent spins on rock stations, despite being a hip-hop track. "Dirty Harry," an allusion to the famous Clint Eastwood character, is all over the place — it has a funky backbeat and features an a cappella performance by a group of children for half the track, then turns into a driving rap song. "November Has Come" may be the best display of Russel's rap skills to date and "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" sounds like gospel music on acid. The whole album has some of the best beats out there today — the funk and grit validate the band's hip-hop label. The creativity and exploration of sound will captivate rock and even techno fans.

"Demon Days," despite its label as a rock album, is a great example of real genre-bending music — not specifically rock, hip-hop, techno or alternative. Then again, the band itself was never about conquering a genre or selling millions of units — it was always a project for artists and producers to collaborate and explore, using the animated characters as a creative curtain. Lyrically and musically, it's one of the freshest albums of the year.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College and editor of the college newspaper, Ka 'Ohana.