The Good, The Bad And The Queen - Kingdom of Doom

With all the hype surrounding the confederation of Blur/Gorillaz, The Verve, The Clash and Africa 70, The Good The Bad And The Queen's first single, 'Kingdom Of Doom', doesn't disappoint - at least, not really. A melancholic ode to London, it sees synths float through drifting guitars that borrow heavily from Simon Tong's old band mate, Nick McCabe. Never sounding too distant from Gorillaz, or even Blur's 13, The Good, The Bad and The Queen carries too many hallmarks of a Damon Albarn solo effort, with Tong, Allen and Simonon never quite offering enough to counter the distant, effervescent pop to which Albarn has become so accustomed. [Neil Ferguson]