Damon Albarn // Everyday Robots

Damon Albarn

Everyday Robots

Parlophone

4 Stars

After spending years fronting bands like Britpop legends Blur and the experimental cartoon quartet Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has pulled away the curtain for his first solo album. The cover art for Everyday Robots is rather appropriate, with Albarn sitting by himself in front of a dull grey tableau, a quiet and lonely display for a quiet and lonely album. It doesn't take long before the feeling of isolation in the modern age sets in, as Albarn starts the album off singing "We are everyday robots on our phones/ in the process of getting home/ looking like standing stones/ out there on our own" over simple percussion and strings. From there, the melancholy perseveres, save for Albarn's playful ode to a young elephant on "Mr. Tembo," a bright spot in a sea of aural glumness. Everyday Robots can get a bit heavy on the melancholy, but with songs as lovely as "Photographs (You Are Taking Now)," Albarn's solo debut is a quiet success.