A plethora of new music releases

We take a look at the new releases coming from the likes of Gorillaz, Broken Bells and Goldfrapp. Who's going to come out on top?

—Plastic Beach by Gorillaz: Gorillaz may have originated as a way for Damon Albarn to sidestep the limelight, but on the cartoon group's third album, Plastic Beach, he very much takes centre stage.

Self-producing for the first time, Albarn also sings more than on previous Gorillaz releases, despite an embarrassment of riches on the collaboration front. And, indeed, while contributions from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed initially catch the eye, it's Albarn's musical vision that holds the project together.

Snoop's laconic swagger through the G-funk of Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach is a world away from the Goldfrapp-esque stomp of Mark E Smith's Glitter Freeze or the Arabian-tinged White Flag (featuring UK grime stars Kano and Bashy), but what emerges is a truly coherent, if highly eclectic, album.

More than happy to engage the pop mainstream (once heard, the irresistible Day-Glo chorus of Superfast Jellyfish is never forgotten), yet experimental enough to satisfy the hipsters, these cartoon characters just made the first 3D album of the new decade.

—Broken Bells by Broken Bells: Since becoming a hipster-household name six years ago with the release of The Grey Album, Danger Mouse has assembled an impressive roster of collaborators from all over the art-pop map, including Beck, Damon Albarn and David Lynch.

The producer's latest musical partner, Shins frontman James Mercer, hails from a cozier realm. But Broken Bells, the name of the duo's collaboration and self-titled debut, is still long on the tasteful psychedelic textures that Danger Mouse has brought to hits like Gnarls Barkley's Crazy and the Gorillaz' Feel Good Inc.

The singer matches Danger Mouse's inventive sonics with his usual complement of twisty-turny melodies and dense wordplay, though compared with the Shins' relatively high-octane 2007 release, Wincing the Night Away, such jangly space-folk tunes as Vaporize and Sailing to Nowhere can seem a little snoozy.

—Head First by Goldfrapp: There's no doubt which decade Goldfrapp would like to relive. From the dark disco of 2006 album Supernature to the sleepier, psychedelic strums of 2008's Seventh Tree, fashionista frontwoman Alison Goldfrapp and producer Will Gregory are firmly ensconced in the turbulent '70s.

On Goldfrapp's fourth full-length, Head First, the act returns to poppier form while trying to channel ABBA. Lovely moments abound, but the overall effect is less intoxicating.

- All albums are out now starting from Dh85

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