“Plastic Beach” Songs Ranked

Easily one of my favourite albums to listen to at the moment, “Plastic Beach” has plenty of good songs to appease my eardrums (or however a normal human would say it). If I was pressed on my favourite Gorillaz album, I’d probably pick this one. But how would I rank all the songs?

Bad

16 – Sweepstakes

I almost put this song in “terrible”, but to be fair it definitely picks up in the final minute.

Up until that point, however, it’s just a mess of sounds without any kind of focus. An easy last place for this album.

Meh

15 – White Flag

This song is growing on me with each listen, so maybe in the future it will appear in higher categories.

For now, this song doesn’t really stand out at all, and makes the first bit of the album slightly painful to listen to.

14 – Cloud of Unknowing

Probably the most forgettable song on the record, but Bobby Womack does a great job on vocals, much like his other song on here Stylo (we’ll get to that one much later)

13 – Orchestral Intro

A decent intro (and probably better than it’s “Demon Days” counterpart), but it was never going to rank that highly.

OK

12 – Glitter Freeze

Very jarring on a first listen, but it’s grown on me over time.

I kinda dig the funky sounds they’re going for, and the synthesizer solo near the end makes it worth a listen.

11 – To Binge

A very lovely song, just a sort of forgettable one.

Much like with Bobby Womack, Little Dragon does a good job – but the best is yet to come …

Good

10 – Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach

This song shows just how different “Plastic Beach” is to its predecessor, and for a while I wasn’t a fan. Over time I’ve grown to appreciate it.

It follows on from the Orchestral Intro and is the sort of “true” start to the album, and I think it’s a very solid way of starting proceedings.

9 – Broken

A sort of filler song, but a nice filler song at that.

8 – Some Kind of Nature

Lou Reed gives this song some much needed flair, and the general song is fine, but there are bits I’m not too fond of (like the searing synthesizer in the background).

Great

7 – Plastic Beach

I don’t really have a reason at to why this is higher than some others, I just have a soft spot for it.

6 – On Melancholy Hill

Probably the most famous track on the whole album, On Melancholy Hill is a fine little tune – albeit a very simple one.

Upon multiple listens, the simplicity of the track starts to get in the way. I’ll put it in “great” for now, but I can tell if I overplay it this track will fall down in my rankings.

5 – Pirate Jet

A great way to end the album, Pirate Jet really brings the whole record full circle and ends it on a satisfying and catchy note.

4 – Superfast Jellyfish

Written as a protest against their record label, Gorillaz really knocked it our of the park with this one.

The rapping at the start fits the tone perfectly, and the chorus is one of the catchiest the band have ever produced.

3 – Rhinestone Eyes

A personal favourite of mine, this song is just a banger from start to finish. I’m pretty sure it was a FIFA song back in the day, so bonus points for that too.

Amazing

2 – Empire Ants

It was painful choosing between this and Stylo, but I have to give Empire Ants the silver medal.

This is definitely one of the best songs Gorillaz ever made, and that drop halfway through is a transcendent experience. The bit before that is lovely, but it feels a bit too long.

1 – Stylo

The reason this is in first place is twofold – the chorus is one of Gorillaz’s best, and Bobby frickin’ Womack steals the show.

His vocals on this are incredible (no disrespect to Damon, his vocals are great too), and if I had to one track to listen to from this album, I’d probably pick this one.

Aaaaaand that’s my list. Check out some of my other lists below: