After teasing the psychedelic cover art on Twitter yesterday and nothing else, fans were ecstatic when Gorillaz dropped both Strange Timez and its episodic companion video on YouTube today. 

Beginning with the virtual band gliding through space toward a giant Robert Smith superimposed onto the Moon, and ending with Gorillaz falling through a wormhole and a huge message reading “BE THE CHANGE”, Gorillaz never fail to impress the world with their visuals, as weird and wacky as their music.

Garnering a whopping 342,000 views on YouTube in just 3 hours, Strange Timez is already a hit amongst Gorillaz’ gargantuan fanbase. Strange Timez was directed by Gorillaz co-creator and animator Jamie Hewlett, and can be watched in full here. 

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Song Machine Season OneSTRANGE TIMEZDead Butterflies ft. @therealkano @roxani_arias @mikewillmadeit Out October 23 Pre-order nowgorillaz.com

A post shared by Gorillaz (@gorillaz) on Sep 9, 2020 at 10:52am PDT

Along with the release of Strange Timez, Gorillaz also revealed the full diverse tracklist for the upcoming Song Machine today. Featuring collaborations with the likes of Octavian, Kano, St. Vincent, Sir Elton John, and of course, Robert Smith, Song Machine is set for release on October 23rd. 

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Song Machine Season OneSTRANGE TIMEZOut October 23 Pre-order nowgorillaz.com

A post shared by Gorillaz (@gorillaz) on Sep 9, 2020 at 10:32am PDT

Gorillaz creator Damon Albarn and Robert Smith spoke to BBC Radio 6 today about how eerie track Strange Timez came to be. Keeping a social distance, the pair revealed that “we did this tune via email!” Smith concurred, adding that “I loved it! I thought it was excellent. I felt ripples in the force and I thought, ‘I better get this done.’”

Strange Timez is out now.

The full tracklist to Sound Machine can be found below:

1. Strange Timez (ft. Robert Smith)
2. The Valley of The Pagans (ft. Beck)
3. The Lost Chord (ft. Leee John)
4. Pac-Man (ft. ScHoolboy Q)
5. Chalk Tablet Towers (ft. St Vincent)
6. The Pink Phantom (ft. Elton John and 6LACK)
7. Aries (ft. Peter Hook and Georgia)
8. Friday 13th (ft. Octavian)
9. Dead Butterflies (ft. Kano and Roxani Arias)
10. Désolé (ft. Fatoumata Diawara) (Extended Version)
11. Momentary Bliss (ft. slowthai and Slaves)

Deluxe
1. Strange Timez (ft. Robert Smith)
2. The Valley of The Pagans (ft. Beck)
3. The Lost Chord (ft. Leee John)
4. Pac-Man (ft. ScHoolboy Q)
5. Chalk Tablet Towers (ft. St Vincent)
6. The Pink Phantom (ft. Elton John and 6LACK)
7. Aries (feat. Peter Hook and Georgia)
8. Friday 13th (ft. Octavian)
9. Dead Butterflies (ft. Kano and Roxani Arias)
10. Désolé (ft. Fatoumata Diawara) (Extended Version)
11. Momentary Bliss (ft. slowthai and Slaves)
12. Opium (ft. EARTHGANG)
13. Simplicity (ft. Joan As Police Woman)
14. Severed Head (ft. Goldlink and Unknown Mortal Orchestra)
15. With Love To An Ex (ft. Moonchild Sanelly)
16. MLS (feat. JPEGMAFIA and CHAI)
17. How Far? (ft. Tony Allen and Skepta)

Strange Timez is out now.