Calling The World From Isolation

Gorillaz featuring George Benson “Humility”

“I don’t want this isolation,” Damon Albarn sings, alluding to both personal loneliness and the self-destructive political impulses of England (and for that matter, several other nations in the recent past.) The music is melancholy yet tranquil and idyllic. It makes me imagine someone wandering alone through a vacation resort at sunset, looking at couples and families with muted envy. It’s the sound of desperately wanting connection and community, but feeling hobbled by bad decisions and anxieties. Albarn holds back the more robust tones of his voice here, opting to sound more fragile and exhausted as he tentatively reaches out for help. “I need you in the picture, that’s why I’m calling you,” he sings, and I find the lack of pride in his voice – the humility! – to be incredibly moving and inspirational.

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