★★★★☆
In a time where artificial intelligence and advancements in technology have aided the arts today, The Mountain by the iconic virtual band Gorillaz (founded by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett) does something deeply humane with its sound and message. That is, it turns inward, combining multicultural and layered instrumentation alongside reflective lyricism that touches upon themes of death, grief, the afterlife, and humanity.
The virtual band’s ninth studio album feels less like a form of reinvention and more like a moment of reckoning. Listening to it from start to end feels like you’re with the singer-songwriters on a trip of meditation, where each track builds up to unravel the ways humans process loss and impermanence.
In the album’s opening track, ‘The Mountain,’ the song truly defined the album’s narrative as a metaphor for the journey of life. With its build-up in Indian classical instrumentation and meditative lyrics of “The Mountain (All good souls come to rest),” it eases listeners into the concept of dealing with a loved one’s death.
‘The Hardest Thing‘ also explores the concept of loss as it features an introduction from Tony Allen (long-time friend and collaborator of Gorillaz). With 2-D’s verse “You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye to someone you love… Wondering how, how you got to the afterlife?” it’s a slow ballad that builds up dramatically with synths and strings.
Continuing to ‘The Happy Dictator,’ we see past the conversation of death, something that blurs the line between acceptance and denial on troublesome matters. With the refrain of “Oh, what a happy land we live in,” the song is propaganda-like, which also laments how we as humans want to avoid being troubled by the state of the world. Similarly, ‘The Empty Dream Machine’ touches on spiritual search, specifically on how one recovers from a major loss.
For ‘The Manifesto,’ it’s the second single from the album and has some remnants of Gorillaz’s Demon Days album, such as a verse from the late artist Proof. The song overall is catchy, with the Argentine rapper and singer, Trueno singing the first half of the song. It feels rather like a spiritual meditation and declaration on treading through life’s uncertainties.
Moving forward, ‘Plastic Guru’ is another interesting track as it dives into the socialness of human beings. Inspired by their experiences of meeting a guru in India, the song highlights the obsession with fame and profit rather than uplifting others. It questions how easily belief can be manufactured and sold so easily with the lines, “We believe what we choose… Is that not the truth?”
Then, for ‘Delirium,’ this is a call for greater world change. With a posthumous feature from Mark E. Smith, the song carries a raw, confrontational energy that feels haunting yet powerful. It captures the moment where grief and reflection give way to frustration, asking what remains when humanity refuses to learn from loss.
Lastly, ‘The Sad God’ wraps up the album with its strong core, seeming to frame humanity’s relationship with creation and responsibility through a devastating lens. The song’s verses read like a lament from a creator to its creation, which offered life only for the gift of life to be weaponized, used for thoughtless acts and spiritual emptiness. Alongside its gentle chorus and sorrowful repetition, the song isn’t a condemnation from the get-go. It quietly mourns the cost of progress, hinting at humanity’s grief over their choices in living this life and on this planet.
Taken as a whole, The Mountain stands as one of Gorillaz’s most introspective and spiritually grounded works, using a very global soundscape and deep-cut narrative arc to mirror the non-linear experiences of grief, belief, and self-reckoning. It invites you to sit with discomfort, contradiction, and uncertainty. At the same time, it hopes you acknowledge that loss, despair, and hope often exist side-by-side. Ultimately, the album is a reminder of how art holds a space for the fragility and unsolved realities of human nature.
Animated Film: The Mountain, The Moon Cave, & The Sad God
To mark the release, Gorillaz unveiled an eight-minute animated short film, The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God. This extends the album’s themes into a visual meditation on life, mortality, and the concept of existence.
Directed by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett in collaboration with BAFTA-nominated animation studio THE LINE, the film follows Noodle, Murdoc, 2D, and Russel as they journey across India, turning their back on international pop stardom and navigating through life itself. It’s a fitting metaphor for an album that frames existence as a journey that’s uncertain, strenuous, and revolving around finding life’s meaning.
What makes this animated short film unique is its homage to the golden era of 2D animation. Favoring hand-painted backgrounds and practical processes through a hybrid analog-digital workflow, the result isn’t just an accompaniment to the album. For this short film, it’s a celebration of human labor, albeit human artistry and imperfection, in an age increasingly defined by automation.
The Mountain Tracklist
- The Mountain (Ft. Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, Anoushka Shankar, Ayaan Ali Bangash & Dennis Hopper)
- The Moon Cave (Ft. Asha Puthli, Black Thought, Bobby Womack, Jalen Ngonda & Trugoy the Dove)
- The Happy Dictator (Ft. Sparks)
- The Hardest Thing (Ft. Tony Allen)
- Orange County (Ft. Anoushka Shankar, Bizarrap & Kara Jackson) Lyrics
- The God of Lying (Ft. IDLES)
- The Empty Dream Machine (Ft. Anoushka Shankar, Black Thought & Johnny Marr)
- The Manifesto (Ft. Proof & Trueno) Lyrics
- The Plastic Guru (Ft. Anoushka Shankar & Johnny Marr)
- Delirium (Ft. Mark E. Smith)
- Damascus (Ft. Omar Souleyman & Yasiin Bey)
- The Shadowy Light (Ft. Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, Asha Bhosle, Ayaan Ali Bangash & Gruff Rhys)
- Casablanca (Ft. Johnny Marr & Paul Simonon)
- The Sweet Prince (Ft. Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar & Johnny Marr)
- The Sad God (Ft. Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar & Black Thought)
Gorillaz 2026 Tour Dates
If you plan to ride the waves of Gorillaz’s new album, they’ll also be having an international tour that takes over the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, France, Turkey, the USA, Colombia, Chile, and more countries.
On the headlining show at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20, 2026, Sparks and Trueno will also be featured in the show.
13 Mar – The Mountain Tour – Warm Ups – Bradford, United Kingdom
14 Mar – The Mountain Tour – Warm Ups – Bradford, United Kingdom
20 Mar – Co-Op Live – Manchester, United Kingdom
21 Mar – Co-Op Live – Manchester, United Kingdom
22 Mar – BP Pulse Live – Manchester, United Kingdom
24 Mar – Ovo Hydro – Glasgow, United Kingdom
25 Mar – First Direct Bank Arena – Leeds, United Kingdom
27 Mar – Utilita Arena Cardiff – Cardiff, United Kingdom
28 Mar – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham, United Kingdom
29 Mar – M&S Bank Arena Liverpool – Liverpool, United Kingdom
31 Mar – The SSE Arena, Belfast – Belfast, United Kingdom
1 Apr – 3Arena – Dublin 1, Ireland
2 Apr – 3Arena – Dublin 1, Ireland
4-7 Jun – Primavera Sound 2026 – Barcelona, Spain
5 Jun – We Love Green – Paris, France
10 Jun – Rock for People 2026 – Hradec Králové, Czechia
12 Jun – Primavera Porto 2026 – Porto, Portugal
14 Jun – Best Kept Secret 2026 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
20 Jun – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London, United Kingdom
22 – 24 Jun – Inmusic – Zagreb, Croatia
25 – 26 Jun – Release Athens X SNF Nostos 2026 – Kallithea, Greece
27 Jun – La Prima Estate 2026 – Lido Di Camaiore, Italy
2 Jul – Roskilde Festival – Roskilde, Denmark
4 Jul – Rock Werchter 2026 – Werchter, Belgium
5 Jul – Lux Expo – Luxembourg, Luxembourg
9 Jul – Pohoda Festival 2026 – Trencin, Slovakia
11 Jul – Musilac – Divonne-Les-Bains, France
14 Jul – Pozitif Vibrations – İstanbul, Turkey
16 Jul – Pozitif Vibrations – İstanbul, Turkey
18 Jul – Phillgood Festival – Plovdiv, Bulgaria
25 Jul – Piazza Unità d’Italia – Trieste, Italy
13 Aug – BitterSweet Festival – Poznań, Poland
15 Aug – Way Out West Festival – Gothenburg, Sweden
22 Aug – Park Live Almaty – Almaty, Kazakhstan
29 Aug – Electric Picnic Festival – County Laois, Ireland
20 Sep – Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA, USA
17 Nov – Coliseo MedPlus Bogotá – Bogotá, Colombia
23 Nov – Arena Park 1 – Lima, Peru
01 Dec – Jockey Club del Paraguay – Asunción, Paraguay
03 Dec – Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida – Santiago, Chile