Gorillaz fans are in heaven: Band share two tracks from new album, announce N American tour and confirm 2nd Demon Dayz Festival
It looks like Damon Albarn has been very busy off late. Late last year, after the release of the heavily collaborative ‘Humanz’, there were talks of Gorillaz heading straight back into the studio for a new record to be out in 2018, without taking the usual three-to-four year hiatus that fans have become habituated to.
In an interview last December, Jamie Hewlett, the illustrator behind the beloved animated primate-brat-pack said: “We are working on another Gorillaz album, which is going to be released next year. So we’re going straight into the next album with no break. Usually we have a good five years break but this time we decided to keep going.”
Now, Gorillaz have kept their promise by confirming that the new album, 'The Now Now' will indeed drop on June 29 via Warner Bros./Parlophone.
To preview the album, Gorillaz shared two new tracks 'The Humility' and 'Lake Zurich', the former of which came with a swanky video with a cameo appearance by the very funny Jack Black, who appears as a beachside busker picking out the song's cheery guitar parts.
Curiously missing from the video is the band's regular bassist Murdock Niccals. In a recent statement, Gorillaz revealed that Murdock is “temporarily indisposed” and will be “replaced” on the record and tour by Gangreen Gang member/Powerpuff Girls villain Ace, who can be seen in a small scene in the video of 'The Humility' as well.
Albarn discussed the new record with Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 show.
Albarn revealed that the 11-track effort was a "summer album" produced by Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford, who most recently worked with Arctic Monkeys on Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino and Remi Kabaka. Albarn also revealed that the only featured guests are George Benson, Jamie Principle, and Snoop Dogg, who performed a song called 'Hollywood' with Albarn earlier this year.
In stark contrast, Gorillaz’s 2017 release 'Humanz,' boasted 15 guest appearances, including those by De la Soul, Mavis Staples, DRAM and Rag ’n Bone Man among more.
But wait, there's more! Gorillaz have also announced a North American tour and confirmed that their Demon Dayz Festival will return for a second year as well.
The short trek spans just seven dates, but each show will be just as massive as the last. With accompaniment from Little Dragon and The Internet, they’ll play arenas in Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Chicago, before making their way to Los Angeles for the Demon Dayz Festival.
Tickets for all the shows go on sale Friday, June 8.
Find the tracklist for 'The Now Now', complete schedule of tour dates and album art for the new album below:
'The Now Now' tracklist:
01 Humility [ft. George Benson]
02 Tranz
03 Hollywood [ft. Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle]
04 Kansas
05 Sorcererz
06 Idaho
07 Lake Zurich
08 Magic City
09 Fire Flies
10 One Percent
11 Souk Eye
Gorillaz 2018 Tour Dates:
06/01 – Nuremberg, DE @ Rock Im Park
06/03 – Mendig, DE @ Rock Im Ring
06/09 – Dublin, IE @ Malahide Castle
06/15 – Barcelona, ES @ Sónar Festival
06/21 – Chiba, JP @ Makuhari Messe
07/05 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/06 – Gdynia, PL @ Open’er Festival
07/07 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/11 – Bern, CH @ Gurtenfestival
07/12 – Lucca, IT @ Lucca Summer Festival
07/14 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
07/19 – Nyon, CH @ Paléo Festival
07/21 – Carhaix, FR @ Vieilles Charrues
07/22 – Paris, FR @ Lollapalooza Paris
07/25 – Kiev, UA @ U-Park Festival
07/28 – Moscow, RU @ Park Live Festival
08/09 – Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival
08/11 – Ovington, UK @ BoomTown Fair
08/16 – St. Pölten, AT @ Frequency Festival
08/17 – Biddinghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
10/08 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre *
10/09 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre *
10/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center *
10/13 – New York, NY @ Barclays Center *
10/14 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden #
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ United Center *
10/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Demon Dayz Festival
* = w/ The Internet
# = w/ Little Dragon