Gorillaz' third album, Plastic Beach, is the latest saga from Damon Albarn, who can also be found as the lead vocal in Blur and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen.  Plastic Beach is the follow up to the critically acclaimed Demon Days and Albarn kept the same recipe, a concept album with a ton of guest spots (maybe too many). But those seem to be the only qualities these two records share; Plastic Beach isn't nearly as poppy as it's predecessors and the commercial singles of "Feel Good Inc." and "19-2000" seem to be long gone.

The record starts with the Orchestral Intro and the soothing sounds of waves rolling up and seagulls squawking in the distance. Before you know it, you're listening to Snoop Dogg welcoming you to the world of the plastic beach and you know right from the start, this is going to be different than anything you've ever heard. "Rhinestone Eyes" is a synth heavy track with only 2D(voiced by Albarn) singing lyrics that are up for interpretation that might have some global warming implications: "With future pixels in factories far away / So call the mainland from the beach / Your heart is now washed up in bleach / The waves are rising for this time of year / And nobody knows what to do with the heat / Under sunshine pylons we'll meet while rain is falling like rhinestones from the sky."

The first single "Stylo" ft Mos Def and Bobby Womack is definitely an album highlight but once Womack crashes in out of nowhere, it almost puts the track to a dead stop and leaves you feeling completely confused as to why it's there in the first place.

The catchiest chorus belongs to "Superfast Jellyfish" on what seems to be a commercial spoof ft De La Soul. The upbeat synth and infectious chorus leads into "Empire Ants" ft. Little Dragon. This slow moving jam picks up intensity and eventually sounds like you stepped out into a 1980's disco club.

"Some Kind of Nature" features Lou Reed almost rapping, but not quite and is followed by one of the few times Damon Albarn sings by himself on "Melancholy Hill" that has his vocals over a gothic organ.

Plastic Beach has a grand theme and it feels that way when you listen to it, almost too grand for its own good. There's so many guest spots, so many different sounds that it doesn't feel as unified as the previous Gorillaz albums. But one thing is for sure, and that's when you hear a Gorillaz song, you know it's a Gorillaz song. Damon Albarn has continued to make a unique original sound with quite a few highlights but just not as many as we're used to.