Fortunately, Damon Albarn knows this, and his stoned drawl throughout Demon Days perfectly suits the mood. Don’t bogart the bong, pass it on, fire it up, lay back, relax. The commander is at his seat; this time it’s not Dan the Automator, upgraded for the newer model Danger Mouse. Rad. A pop culture reference within a pop culture.

Danger Mouse gives Demon Days a newer focus, and that focus is solely on Damon Albarn. Jamie Hewlett still does the cartoons, but this is very much Damon’s pet project, and suffice to say like the last three albums he’s done it’s an adventurous collage of sound. “Kids With Gun” is a blast of fun, with Danger Mouse giving it a solid bass and funk grounding over the choir, and some brilliant electronic bips. Albarn is there, but barely. There’s a rich darkness to much of Demon Days, from the beats and keyboard parts to Albarn’s own rich lyricism – the boy sure has done good since the horrid days of country houses and charmless men.

There’s no doubt that the first Gorillaz album freed Albarn up to create Think Tank, the best of blur’s seven albums. After that heady rush, Demon Days comes across as being on a bit of a downer; the vibe is most certain mellow, laidback, and generally blissful. Even when Albarn is taking a backseat, as on the kids-voiced playfulness of “Dirty Harry”, or when the tempo is up, as on single “Feel Good Inc.”, there’s a distinct smoky haze to it all. It becomes particularly obvious on the Shaun Ryder-assisted baggy of “Dare” that this is an album that can be both downcast yet joyous.