By Isabella Ardetto, Contributor 

[Studio 13; 2025]

Rating: 7/10

Gorillaz are back! It’s been two years since the release of Cracker Island, and now with the official introduction to phase 8, fans have been buzzing about what’s in store for the digital band. 

Read more: Single Review: The Last Dinner Party – “The Scythe” 

Gorillaz recently celebrated their twenty-fourth anniversary with a four-night residency at the Copper Box in London, delighting fans for three nights with back-to-back hits from their previous albums. On the fourth night, however, fans were surprised with a “mystery show,” which happened to be a full performance of the brand-new album, The Mountain, due to be released on March 20, 2026. A 2026 tour was also announced.

While the album is a long way off, the first single, “The Happy Dictator,” featuring American pop duo Sparks, makes it clear already that it will be worth the wait. It’s catchy, feel-good and whimsical, but deceptively deep with political commentary — a duality seen often with Gorillaz. 

The song was inspired by a trip frontman Damon Albarn took to Turkmenistan with his daughter Missy, where its ruling dictator, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, attempts to keep the population happy by preventing the press from reporting any bad news. Albarn had this to say about the single on BBC Radio 1: “There’s a degree of satire, but it’s one of those things that you can sort of imagine people singing back at you and it being quite a joyful experience even though the origins of it are quite sinister and dark.”

Lyrically, these elements shine through with verses like “No more bad news/ So you can sleep at night/ And the palace of your mind will be bright” and “Are you not better off than ever?/ Are you not better off right now?” sung cheerfully by Albarn or chanted reverently by Spark’s Russell Mael respectively. These lines are complemented by upbeat synths, a jumpy beat, and at times, distorted vocals that bring the peaceful bliss of the song back to reality when necessary. The euphoric quality of the instruments and vocals paired with the dark lyrics are earworm-worthy and haunting all at once. 

Overall, while the track doesn’t break new ground, it’s clear that Gorillaz still has their spark, and if this is any indication for the album as a whole, The Mountain will be just as catchy and effortlessly exciting as their earlier work.