I learned about this band (a.k.a. the creators of...) through a Gorillaz newsletter and since I'm a long-time Blur fan who tracks all the music Damon Albarn does (which isn't as easy as I originally thought it would be) I hunted the album down and have been listening to it for the last couple of days.
It's an interesting mix of sounds and styles. A review I read yesterday called them a west-end world-beat super-group and I'd pretty much have to agree with that description. Than band is comprised of Damon Albarn (Blur frontman), Paul Simonon (Clash bassist), Simon Tong (Verve guitarist) and Tony Allen (Afrobeat drummer). Together they have created an album full of moody, fresh yet retro, maudlin and unpolished sounds that sort of burrow in under the skin. It's not an album you necessarily want to be doing dishes to, but it's nice because it makes you listen a little closer. You engage it a little more than you would your typical pop record.
I got a similar feeling when I first sat down to listen to Blur's second to last album, '13'. Many of the songs were uninteresting from a 'listen in the car as you drive to work' standpoint, but when I lay in bed at night with the headphones I got a whole new experience.
Anyway, here's a little video of Albarn talking about the band:
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