From the first listen The Good, The Bad and The Queen is strikingly complete. It seems to show the best facets of all assembled (though, sadly, Tony Allen doesn't seem to shine until 'Three Changes') with such ease that their identities hardly matter anymore, despite the hype the 'supergroup' has attracted. It's a peculiarly British modesty, exactly the sort of national characteristic that forms the album's foundation.
The album wallows in post-colonial influences, skirting folk, post-rock and reggae often within the same song. Damon Albarn's musings on war and the changing tapestry of his home have matured, sharing more with the philosophy of Joe Strummer than Britpop muse Ray Davies. "Emptiness in computers bothers me" he sings on 'Soldier's Tale', no longer hiding behind the characters of his previous work. As a result he record often feels intensely personal.
Where Danger Mouse production connotes inescapable surface gloss and Gnarls Barkley super-hits, he's overseen a record that strives to sound authentic, and succeeds. If there's a flaw it's that there's little respite from such melancholic reflection. It's also a tough album to glean hits from; even the rolling 'Kingdom of Doom', relishing in Simonon's walkabout bass, sounds better in context than as a standalone single.
It's easy to look at The Good, The Bad and The Queen as the sum of its superstar parts, but it's restraint in all quarters that makes it so successful. It may well be Albarn's brainchild, but for the first time in a long time he's made a record that seems whole, not just a one-man show.
--Matt Sheret
8.
