If there was an episode of Ren and Stimpy where Ren joined the rave scene and Stimpy decided to become an emcee, the Gorillaz is surely what would have resulted.

Damon Albarn, leadsinger of Blur, illustrator Jamie Helwett, and producer Dan "the Automator" With an interesting concert tour underway; images of the cartoon characters are shown on a screen while Albarn and his cohorts produce the music from behind the shroud. The G-Sides, of b-sides and remixes, the Gorillaz are after the money in the listeners' wallets.

To be fair, G-Sides has some substance. The synth-pop of "19-2000 (Soulchild remix)," is refreshing and bounces the album to a positive start like a clown starting off a child's birthday party. Albarn must be going for the reality of the cartoon theme because the song sounds completely like cartoons produced and performed it.

The best tracks on the album occur when Albarn and friends seem to get darker and leave the detachment of the cartoon world behind. Albarn's chilling vocals of "what's the matter with me?" are cleverly accompanied by a bouncing salsa beat and jazz trumpet on "Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)."

The simple, melodically driven, "Faust," gets help at the end with additional vocals from Miho Hatori. The line "after a hard day" sung both by Albarn and Hatori overlaps the trance music, leaving the impression that Albarn might have let some emotion slip into the fantasy world.

-- Reviewed by Caleb Sheaffer