Gorillaz premiered their new video for Plastic Beach’s “Stylo” last night on YouTube, revealing that the band known for its savvy musical cameos is adept at recruiting Hollywood talent for its videos, too. In “Stylo,” Bruce Willis, in John McClane mode, plays a badass bounty hunter pursuing the Gorillaz gang in a high-speed chase down a desert highway. The video kicks off with the animated troupe on the run following some sort of crime — their car is bullet-ridden and Damon Albarn’s 2D is wearing the clown mask that the Joker wore in the opening bank robbery scene from The Dark Knight.
After avoiding the police — Noodle takes out a cruiser with a shotgun — Willis picks up their scent, and what follows is a furious ride down the highway paced by the electro beat of “Stylo.” Willis spends a lot of time hamming it up for the cameras and Albarn’s creative partner Jamie Hewlett have transformed the Gorillaz from animated cells to full-bodied CGI characters capable of inhabiting our world, but given that the visual has always been just as important to Gorillaz as the audio, this clip is a more than worthwhile introduction to the world of Plastic Beach. (Thanks to EMI’s “no embed” policy, you need to visit YouTube” to watch it.)
Plastic Beach isn’t due out in the States until next week, but you can stream the album in its entirety on NPR.org. Plus, Rolling Stone’s take on Gorillaz’ third album is available now, and Rob Sheffield writes in his three-and-a-half star review, “Plastic Beach is not as pop as the first two Gorillaz albums — there aren’t any go-for-the-throat dance tunes in the style of ‘Dare,’ ‘Feel Good Inc.’ or ‘19-2000.’ But it peaks high.”
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Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily