Gorillaz Peaks With The Arrival Of ‘The Mountain’

The Mountain (पर्वत), Gorillaz's ninth studio album, arrived on February 27, 2026. It is an incredible album, and can easily be called one of the best by the band. 

Spanning 15 tracks, it merges Gorillaz's glitchy electronic pop with intricate Indian classical layers, sparked by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's soul-searching Rajasthan journey after their fathers' deaths. The record soared to #1 in the UK and #7 on the US Billboard 200.

The Mountain boasts an eclectic line-up of legendary and rising talents, blending global icons with posthumous nods to past collaborators—all woven into its Indian-infused soundscape.

The extraordinary array of collaborators on the album creates a blend of music that is supreme in quality and sound. It is the correct mix of popular music that has influences of classical, rock, punk, electro and roots. 

With living legends like sitarist Anoushka Shankar, flautist Ajay Prasanna and sarod masters Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and posthumous contributions from Dennis Hopper's haunting spoken word, soul icon Bobby Womack, De La Soul's Trugoy the Dove, and Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. Heavyweights such as The Roots' Black Thought, The Smiths' Johnny Marr, synth-pop duo Sparks and post-punk outfit Idles join rising stars including Jalen Ngonda, Argentine rapper Trueno, Arabic artist Omar Souleyman, Yasiin Bey, Bollywood veteran Asha Bhosle, Asha Puthli, producer Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, Gruff Rhys and Clash bassist Paul Simonon, creating a rich global tapestry that elevates the album's themes of grief and renewal. 

Breakout Songs

Each track on this album is carefully designed and carries a value of timelessness. However, there are still a few of those that are almost essential for listening pleasure.  

The first track eponymous with the album, starts with a blissful bansuri rendition by Indian classical musician Ajay Prasanna, mixed with tabla and santoor. The background score feels complete, like being on top of a mountain—a calm sound reminiscent of a serenity that comes after scaling a summit. 

Gorillaz changes the gears from the second track The Moon Cave, which is groovy, yet contains a soothing texture. The congregation of artists only adds depth, with rapper Black Thought’s vocals adding a hip-hop coolness to the track. 

One of the more dance-y songs is Happy Dictator, which has the sound of the synthesizer, with a forward motion that reminds you of an 80s dance number. A Sparks’ collaboration keeps the lyrics funny and deadpan. 

One can certainly say that the album gets better on listening for a second and third time. Another great aspect is that one song blends into the other, creating a seamless soundscape for the album.  

There are also songs that deal directly with difficult emotions of grief, sadness, and loss. This can be seen in tracks like The Hardest Thing and Orange County, with the latter evoking emotions behind an upbeat background score, becoming a song of reckoning.

The Shadowy Light is a song that starts with the legendary Asha Bhosle’s vocals in Hindi, asking an oarsman to take the person to a place of peace without joy or sadness, victory or defeat. It sounds like a hymn and an anthem for individual attainment of peace. During the course of the song, the 92-year-old Bhosle’s vocals become the carrier to such a place. Talking of the track, she said, “The song The Shadowy Light holds deep meaning for me. Visiting Varanasi and travelling along the most sacred river Ganges, observing closely what I saw, I understood the meaning of life, who I was and what I was supposed to do on earth.”

Delirium, featuring the late English singer-songwriter Mark E Smith is another great dance number that has an upbeat ring to it. It is however a song that does not sound contemporary. 

The Plastic Guru is a happy song of hope, where Anoushka Shankar has rendered wonderful Sitar thrums to the track.  

The Empty Dream Machine is musically one of the best songs on the album and is a track to revisit time and again. It features artistes Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Shankar. 

Damascus, as the name suggests, is a song featuring Arabic vocals with a groovy North African sound signature. Legendary Syrian singer Omar Souleyman and Yasmin Bey—who—adds political poetry to the song, are contributing artists on the track. 

The Manifesto is a track that has Indian temple beats backed by Spanish vocals. It reads like an odd combination but it works musically. Moreover, it’s a 7-minute banger so it changes beat and course, leaving you completely surprised in the middle. Argentine rapper and singer Trueno and late American rapper Proof have contributed on the track. 

The Sad God is a song reminiscent of the titular track. It evokes a sadness and is an ode to the grief that the band creators felt while starting the album, embarking on a journey to India. Again, there is depth in the background score, with the Indian flute, sitar, the synthesiser and guitars, all fusing together ever so gently and creating a beautiful harmony. It’s also sad because a wonderful album comes to a close with it. 

Gorillaz’s The Mountain is a celebration and an ode to diversity, via different forms of music genres, artistes and cultures. In effect, India is represented well when looked at with a lens of diversity. Meanwhile, Gorillaz has still managed to keep their soul intact. This is undoubtedly one of their best works, topping the charts across the globe, with the potential to win several accolades in the next awards season.