Gorillaz "The Mountain" Album Review

"The Mountain" Album Art

Kay Joseph | March 2026

Back in September, we released an article reviewing “The Happy Dictator”, the song that put an end to Gorillaz's almost three-year hiatus. Not only did the band release a song, but it also came alongside an album announcement.

Here we finally are, in Gorillaz’ new “The Mountain” era. As mentioned in the aforementioned article, they only had one idea in mind: to make death look cool. 

First, a quick recap of the events that led up to where the virtual band finds itself right now. Following suspicious activity in and around their LA mansion, the members flee to New York and obtain fake passports. They embark on a physical and metaphorical journey to India, and thematically the album explores spiritual connections, death, grief and the afterlife. What happens to the members themselves has always been the big question.

Gorillaz’ co-creator and visual artist Jamie Hewlett discussed in an interview that the members can’t die because they’re cartoon characters. “I think Murdoc had his head chopped off a few times, and I think Murdoc killed 2D, but they don't die. But in this album, they could experience the afterlife on our behalf and come back and tell us what it’s like.” That sums Gorillaz up perfectly. 

Just like its predecessors, “The Mountain” is heavy on artistic features through which Gorillaz further expand their sonic landscape. They even posthumously featured artists who have passed away in recent years, as if it were a perfect puzzle piece in the themes of the album. 

Track 1 – The Mountain

The album kicks off with the title track, which already showcases the influences of Indian culture and music that will appear throughout the album. The song is entirely instrumental except for the last fifty seconds, where it repeats “The Mountain”, over and over again, with some expansions such as “All good souls come to rest”, and “Serenity and Beauty”. The song is a beautiful start to the journey that Gorillaz will take you on. 

Features: Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash

Track 2 – The Moon Cave

“The Moon Cave” has a rather magical and mystical sound and blends with synth-pop in an unusually fitting way. It’s almost like a positive twist on mourning and death, as if it’s celebrating it. The song has a nice balance between vocals and rapping, a blend that is prevalent in a lot of Gorillaz songs (example: Feel Good Inc.). You almost want to label this song as ‘feel-good’, even though it explores themes of death and grief. 

Features: Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda, Black Thought

Track 3 – The Happy Dictator

“The Happy Dictator” was the first song they released to promote the album, but it fits right into the narrative as the third track. For an in-depth review of this song, read our article on Gorillaz here!

Features: Sparkz

Track 4 – The Hardest Thing

Despite being the shortest track on the album and the only one under three minutes, “The Hardest Thing” is still an impactful, beautiful tune. With a similar feel to “The Moon Cave”, Gorillaz explores grief and the hardships of saying goodbye to a loved one. It’s one of the slower ones on the album, and the message is clear: “You know, the hardest thing is saying goodbye to someone you love”.

Features: Tony Allen

Track 5 – Orange County

“Orange County” is a melancholic, but upbeat continuation of the previous track. It keeps circling back to the same impossible task: saying goodbye to someone you love. It echoes the lyrics of “The Hardest Thing” – as mentioned above – multiple times throughout the song, and Anoushka Shankar’s instrumental feature rings through with the sitar. 

As much as it’s about the dead, “Orange County” is also about the living and what loss demands of them; the terror of inheriting someone’s legacy and the guilt that comes with it, wondering if you’re ever worthy enough to carry it.

Features: Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, Anoushka Shankar

Track 6 – The God of Lying

Along with “The Manifesto”, which will be reviewed later, I already listened to “The God of Lying” before the album came out, so I knew what the song sounded like. There were more songs released after this one, but to honour the listening experience that Gorillaz wanted for this album – listening to the songs to immerse yourself in the journey – this was the last one I listened to. 

A very reggae-influenced track, “The God of Lying” is a deep exploration of humanity’s relationship with faith and belief. IDLES’ frontman Joe Talbot takes the centre stage with melancholic spoken words in the verses: “Are you happy with your housing? / Are you climbing up the walls? / Are you deafened by the headlines / or does your head not hear at all?” and “I went to the liquor store / And they took all my money / I stared into the mirror there / And begged the man to love me.” 

Its minimalistic, slow-tempo instrumentals, along with the haunting and fragile vocals from both Joe Talbot and 2-D, truly make the song stand out from the rest. The tone they set showcases how “The Mountain” is a darker, more introspective chapter in the evolution of Gorillaz.

Features: IDLES

Track 7 – The Empty Dream Machine

“The Empty Dream Machine” is a more toned-down moment of emotional vulnerability, talking about how individuals come back from and cope with loss and grief, and it highlights personal struggles above all else. What stands out the most to me is the outro, which feels like a confessional love duet: “I need you on my team x2 / The vision is distorted / I love you in that colour / Floating up above you / I'm trying to get my dream back.” 

Features: Black Thought, Johnny Marr, Anoushka Shankar

Track 8 – The Manifesto

Have you ever wondered what it sounds like when Latin hip-hop and Indian pop have a baby? Listen to “The Manifesto”, and you will find your answer. The track is like a spiritual declaration on life, death and the afterlife.  

Trueno makes his return after featuring on the album “Cracker Island”, preaching his declaration in his mother tongue, Spanish. The track contains a mix of English and Spanish. 

What makes this song so different from the rest is the sudden switch-up halfway through it. The instrumentals completely change, leaning more into an alternative and hip-hop sound, whereas the first half is the lovechild of Latin hip-hop and Indian pop. You either love or hate it. And I love it. 

Features: Trueno, Proof

Track 9 – The Plastic Guru

This is a calmer synth-pop song, kind of fading to the background amidst all the big players. Despite its more toned-down and minimalistic feel, the song fits into the album like another essential puzzle piece. 

However, the story behind the creation of the song is a one-in-a-million ‘How is that even possible?’ kind of story. In the making of the album, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett encountered a guru whom they spent an entire day with. He turned out to have researched them beforehand, which led to a bizarre interaction. They sat next to the guru all day and discovered that it was being broadcast on national television in India. 

Features: Johnny Marr, Anoushka Shankar

Track 10 – Delirium

“Delirium” is strangely funky in the way it discusses – what I interpret to be – impending doom, or at least a great force bringing forth change in the form of destruction. The track starts out small with a choir in the background and 2-D’s distorted vocals, building up with a bass and drum pad before it goes full disco/synth-pop. That’s why it stands out so much, and I can’t help but feel some type of way about how much I like the song.

Features: Mark E. Smith

Track 11 – Damascus

As expected from Gorillaz, there’s at least one track with a clear and overt political message. “Damascus” highlights the struggles of refugees and critiques Western involvement in conflicts, focusing on themes like survival and solidarity. The title also refers to the capital of Syria, the city of Damascus. 

The cherry on top is the blend of Syrian dabke (a folk-line dance) and hip-hop to deliver a pro-humanity message. On top of that, the song is partly in Arabic. It celebrates, in every one of its layers, refugees, which makes it refreshing and humanising in times like these: “New arrival / Fresh survival. New ship from Damascus / Nemo point (Fresh) / The fantasy is real / Feel free, enjoy (Fresh).”

Features: Omar Souleyman, Yasiin Bey

Track 12 – The Shadowy Light

A lyrically strong track, “The Shadowy Light” moves from simple longing for escape to a complex acceptance of beginnings and endings: “Come on, my boatman / The waters are deep / I want to cross over to the other side / Where there is happiness /neither sorrow.” (An English translation from Hindi). 

This is all under the haunting banner of a light that is never clear, probably referring to ‘seeing the light’ when you pass away. It’s a minimalistic, culturally rich song that can’t help but creep into your heart. The track features one of the most famous Bollywood and Indian singers, Asha Bhosle, who sings in Hindi. 2-D provides the English parts, alongside Gruff Rhys. 

Features: Asha Boshle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash

Track 13 – Casablanca

Like more songs in the second half, “Casablanca” is more serene and toned-down in its delivery. It describes the feeling of existentialism and exhaustion through lyrics such as: “I don’t know anything that feels like this.” Like “The Plastic Guru”, it’s a song that blends into the album like a perfect puzzle piece, but to me is no particular standout. 

Features: Paul Simonon, Johnny Marr

Track 14  – The Sweet Prince

A meditative, melancholic track that achieves its power through restraint. “The Sweet Prince” is a song that, amongst the other calmer ones, stands out the most to me. It tells a complete emotional story, from cosmic reflection to bedside confessions: “Sweet prince, don't be sad / You were never meant to be here / And the sword you hold in your hand / Well, its mighty blow will set you on / Your patterned path into the next life.”

It has an almost mystical feel to the instrumentals and manages to capture my attention in its minimalism and emotional vulnerability. 

Features: Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr, Anoushka Shankar

Track 15 – The Sad God

The album closes off with a bittersweet, heartfelt message about how humanity’s spiral into weapons and distraction: “I gave you love to fill old glory / I gave you dreams, you wrote the story / I gave you white sails to reach the sun / I gave you atoms, you built a bomb.” It seems to take the perspective of a higher power, looking down on us and watching with disappointment how we take everything for granted, or use it against each other. 

It ties everything together nicely and wraps the journey Gorillaz took us through up in a neat bow. And I’m actually kind of sad that the album is done. 

Features: Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar

Gorillaz take you on a complete listening journey with “The Mountain”, and the storyline of accepting, embracing and celebrating death, grief and the afterlife is very apparent throughout the progression of the album. They’ve really showcased a new side of themselves with a struggle so personal to them, while still having that Gorillaz twist to their tracks. 

So, exactly like they suggested, sit down, put your headphones on and just listen. Immerse yourself in their story. When you do, this album takes you on a personal journey to accept and celebrate that death might be cool after all.

Listen to "The Mountain" here!

Follow Gorillaz on Instagram here!