Marrying visual and auditory art in a novel way, Gorillaz is the ingenious brainchild of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett.

Back when the group first landed on the music scene in the late 90s, not much mainstream collaboration had been executed by musical composers and comic artists. Gorillaz gave an edgy anonymity to music that was, and still is, almost unheard of.

In an age where musicians and singers are often far larger than their actual music, the concept of putting the music above all else by keeping the singers, sound engineers, and musicians in secret—only to be represented by crisp cartoon characters rendered by Hewlett—is refreshing and inspiring.

Hewlett took care of the artwork, creating the band’s characters (2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel), which star in Gorillaz's beautifully animated music videos. Albarn takes care of the sound, enlisting a wide bredth of new latent for Plastic Beach. Constantly expanding their group of collaborators is one of many keys to Gorillaz’s massive success. In the new album, we hear Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, Mos Def, Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, Little Dragon, The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music, and many more.

Plastic Beach is well-crafted and fun. Though it’s not due for public release until next week, March 9, 2010, you can snag an early listen of the entire album from NPR Music.

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