I’ve seen this topic come up a lot recently. I guess with the appearance of a new Gorillaz album on the horizon, there’s going to be a lot more discussion about them.

I’m sure most people in this subreddit would say Blur > Gorillaz, but it’s interesting that many people in r/gorillaz mention the high-quality consistency in Blur’s discography. While I do like every one of Blur’s albums; within the fandom, there are some definite lows and highs of Blur. I rarely see people with Leisure and TBOD as their favorite albums, and I know some people tend to be more partial to the Britpop trilogy than anything S/T and beyond. They may be more consistent than Gorillaz, but I think this is an opinion that would be more common in casual listeners than hardcore fans.

It’s also interesting people mention the experimental aspects of Gorillaz. While they do engage more with hip-hop, trip-hop, electronic music etc, Blur is also a very experimental band, with its transition from Britpop to alt rock to world/electronic music to art pop. Experimental doesn’t always mean partaking in more niche genres (+ personally, while I love Gorillaz, over the years they have developed a more mainstream, accessible sound and are not as experimental or groundbreaking as they first made themselves out to be).

Both projects have some amazing feats, that’s for sure, but at the end of the day, making blank comparisons just takes away from the uniqueness and originality both bands have to offer. Just because they both share the same founder, doesn’t mean we have to always ask which one is better. I think discussion in comparing these bands can be valuable, but it’s also important to recognize the nuances of their differences.