No. 337: Gorillaz - "Gorillaz" (2001)

I was never a huge fan of the whole Britpop explosion of the early to mid-90's - despite enjoying a few albums by Blur, Supergrass and the occasional Oasis single along the way - but for me, this debut album from Gorillaz is where Blur's Damon Albarn emerged as something more than just a former Britpop icon.
While Noel Gallagher entered the new decade seemingly content to re-write the same Oasis album over & over again, Albarn emerged with this brilliant concept: a "virtual band" of cartoon characters (complete with back story) in collaboration with artist Jamie Hewlett and producer Dan The Automator.
This self-titled debut is a finely crafted piece of work, covering many musical styles from hip hop to punk, via some dub and Latin American-infused detours.
When it came out - nearly 10 years ago to the day - I thought "Clint Eastwood" was the best thing I had heard in a long time: a catchy and innovative slice of alt. hip-hop which still sounds as fresh today as it did 10 years ago. In fact the whole album has a timeless feel to it, and I'm sure I'll still be giving it the occasional spin in another 10 years time.
Which is more than I can say about the last five Oasis albums.