Fans have eagerly awaited Gorillaz’s sophomore album for nigh on 4 years, and whilst it has a slightly different feel to the last album, it is still the Gorillaz and still has that “something” that makes it sound different from the abundance of bland hip pop that’s poisoning the airwaves.

Unlike the previous album, production credits go to Danger Mouse for providing the glue that holds it all together, and consequently the album has a less of the gritty hiphop feel provided by Dan The Automator on their self-titled. At first I was a little let down by the sound – production is top notch like the Automator’s, it’s just a little too refined, a little too over processed. But I have to say that despite this initial reaction, the sound has grown on me greatly.

Another minor initial disappointment was the noticeable lack of Del tha Funky Homosapien. Roots Manuva raps across the garagey All Alone, MF Doom appears on November Has Come, and Del La Soul pop up on Feel Good Inc, and they’re all more than fit for the task on this album, and after all, variety is the spice of life.

Demon Days is an evolution in the Gorillaz sound, neither as jarring nor intrusive as the previous album, and I really think this works in its favour. It becomes more of an “album by a band” rather than an offshoot or experiment. That’s not to say the album is conventional or run of the mill – it has a spoken word piece by Dennis Hopper on Fire Coming Out of a Monkey’s Head, and the follow up to Clint Eastwood – aptly titled Dirty Harry – contains the London Community Gospel Choir.

It’s also got some clever crossovers – Madchester legend Shaun Ryder appears on DARE, and even Ike Turner pops up on Every Planet We Reach Is Dead! A diverse range of talent if there ever was one, and with the excellent production and overall cohesiveness the latest from the warped mind of Damon Alban and Jamie Hewlett, this is one of the better albums available this year.