Gorillaz’s highly anticipated third album Plastic Beach definitely sounds like a Gorillaz album, but it lacks the flare of their sophomore release, Demon Days. Plastic Beach feels like a concept album, but it’s difficult to tell what the concept is (but it’s certainly not a pinball wizard). That said, every album released by an animated band of eccentric characters (none of that is metaphorical – they’re cartoons) is bound to be strange and quirky, but the new album takes that to the extreme with its occasionally bizarre genre blending.

Ex-Blur frontman Damon Alburn is the mastermind and voice behind Gorillaz, though his vocals can’t really be heard until the fourth song, “Rhinestone Eyes,” a poppy track with a little bit of an edge that stands out on the lengthy 16-track album. “Superfast Jellyfish,” is another winner, which has the familiar vocals of De La Soul who appeared on the Demon Days single “Feel Good Inc.” The album’s best song, or at least my favourite is “Some Kind of Nature,” which has Alburn singing soft background vocals, featuring the memorable line “all we are is stars.”

While songs like “White Flag” and “Glitter Freeze” are simply boring, the real drawback of Plastic Beach is that it contains no potential smash hits. “Stylo,” the albums first single, is too bland and forgettable – unlike previous albums’ singles like “Clint Eastwood,” “Dirty Harry,” and “DARE.” A decent album overall, but lacking in comparison to the band’s earlier work.