Gorillaz

Laconic trip-hop beats skate beneath ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s distinctive Brit vocals on the animated foursome’s debut album. Nods to hip-hop futurism on “New Genius (Brother)” and dub swagger on “Slow Country” are fused together by Kid Koala’s skittering scratching and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura’s sizzling electronics.