Gorillaz have returned. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have been teasing new music for well over a year now and this is the first concrete taste of what is to come from the duo's upcoming album. It is no coincidence that "Hallelujah Money" was released on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as the pair use the opportunity to protest the current state of affairs in the United States and around the world with corruption, money in elections and race relations. They tab British composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Clementine to be the voice of their anger and to star in a music video.
Clementine adds a hypnotic narration to this world, mixing signing and spoken word.
"And I thought the best way to perfect our tree / Is by building walls / Walls like unicorns / In full glory / And galore / And even stronger / Than the walls of Jericho / But glad then my friend / Out in the field we shall reap a better day / What we have always dreamt of having / Are now for the starving," says Clementine in the first verse.
The Gorillaz provide a soft and somber instrumental that is far from of their more well-known singles. This is up there with some of the most politically charged music they have released, though it is not the first time they have done this.
The music video puts Benjamin Clementine in the gold-plated elevator of Trump Tower as various images are projected on the walls around him.
This is the first new song from Gorillaz in six years. Their last record was 2011's The Fall.
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