B-side albums (or indeed "D-Sides", as the case may be) are usually hit or miss. They are either full of tunes that didn’t pan out the way they were supposed to, songs that may not have been as strong as others, or were a bit too experimental for an album.

Or they could just be full of crappy bum-wipe.

I’m happy to say that this double disc of "D-Sides" and remixes is not bum-wipe, but rather quite listenable and fun. There are ideas here that may offer an occasional, “Oh, that’s quite interesting”, or “Aww, nice twist” uttering from one’s lips.

But at the end of the day, it still has that “I want to dance to this, but in a laid back, sexy fashion” sort of vibe that is, at least to me, synonymous with Gorillaz.

Disc One is stocked with tunes that are both quirky and beautiful, lightly glazed with subtle yet familiar cultural influences, with shout outs to Eastern Europe and breezy, smoke-filled Jamaica.

Damon Albarn’s voice is at his sleepy, cheeky best, sounding much like Bowie in We Are Happy Landfill, his voice surrounded by sliced up flute and harmonica blurts, a tune where one may also find their Mick Jagger strut. It’s all enjoyable, unobtrusive fun. Standout track is the Ian Drury flecked Rockit.

Disc Two is a "Demon Days" remix adventure, full of slick beats and celebrity vocal visits from the likes of Shaun Ryder, Neneh Cherry, Dee la Soul, Jamie T., Hot Chip and others.

This disc is all legs, slick and sassy with its finely tweezered eyebrows and cool catwalk composure. The remixers seemed careful not to overcrowd the songs full of noise, but just add an even meatier dance-twitching vibe to the already slippery swagger of "Demon Days".

"D-Sides" is full of the usual adventurous cheek we’ve come to expect from our cartoon-contoured friends occasionally known as Gorillaz. It’s an album in its own right.

It’s (apply cockney accent for full effect) like, well good, my little monkey pincher!


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