Cracker Island era

Throughout 2022 Gorillaz went on a world tour in South America, Europe, Australia and North America, where they debuted new material. In June 2022 the band began teasing the release of new material, with promotional displays and websites surfacing encouraging fans to sign up to be a part of “The Last Cult”. The band released a new single (regularly performed on tour) called ” Cracker Island “, featuring Thundercat and produced with Greg Kurstin , on 22 June, with the music video being released on 28 July. Their scheduled performance at the first Splendour in the Grass festival in Queensland , Australia on 22 July was cancelled owing to torrential rain. In July 2022 they played at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre as part of Illuminate Adelaide , supported by Moonchild Sanelly. In August 2022 the band performed the new song ” New Gold ” (featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown ) at All Points East in London, and released it as their second single for their eighth studio album, announced on the same day to be titled Cracker Island (released on 24 February 2023). The album, produced with Kurstin, also features appearances from Stevie Nicks , Bad Bunny, Beck, and Adeleye Omotayo. On 4 November the band released the third single from Cracker Island , ” Baby Queen ” (previously released on the FIFA 23 soundtrack). On 8 December the band released the album’s fourth single, “Skinny Ape”, alongside the announcement of two virtual shows in Times Square and Piccadilly Circus on 17 and 18 December, respectively. On 27 January 2023 the album’s fifth single, “Silent Running” featuring Adeleye Omotayo, was released, with a music video following on 8 February. The album received mostly positive reviews, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine describing it as “less an exploration of new sonic territory so much as it is a reaffirmation of [Albarn’s] strengths” with “a clean, efficient energy”.