Typically, I suppose I’m a rocker through-and-through, but when a good friend, whose taste in music I generally trust, played a portion of the album, Demon Days, by Gorillaz, I was instantly hooked. Naturally, I was pretty ecstatic to see that the D-Sides set was available for review, so I thought I’d further the expansion of my musical horizons by nurturing my inner grooviness.

D-Sides is a compilation of b-sides and previously unreleased tracks from the Demon Days sessions, plus a second disc chocked-full of remixed Gorillaz favorites. The first disc touches many genres with its far-reaching mix of musical styles and odd sounds, thus creating the ultimate playlist.

The euphoric feel of “68 State” will make you wish you were getting completely lost in the music and lights of your favorite techno club. The long, drawn-out spacey keyboards, heavy baseline and short, yet powerful bursts of electric guitar place you in that moment where thoughts of the world evaporate and the music just flows through you like soft electricity.

“People,” with its whimsical mix of keyboards and catchy drum beats, probably sounds familiar. This musical amalgamation eventually morphed into the Demon Days single, “Dare.” Additionally, with empowering lyrics such as, “people, people/everybody people/everybody standing their ground,” the song could easily have been a peaceful anthem for social justice straight out of the 1960’s or 70’s.

The soulful and delightfully cartoonish, “HongKongaton” is enough to make you want to lay back and chill, as well as goofily creep around like a child. Also, the inclusion of the vintage arcade game (think Galaga, aka Galaxian) sound effects further drives home the desire to do the latter.

Harmonica, buzzing electric guitar, solid, funky drumbeats, and the ever-constant Sci-Fi keyboards make for a pleasant mixture of sounds in “We Are Happy Landfill.” The Gorillaz bring down the lights with soothing acoustic musicality coupled with slow, heavy vocals in “Hong Kong” that bring about a relaxed state. Put this song on, turn on the Christmas lights (red or blue) in an otherwise unlit room, and let the soft sounds permeate your inner being.

I’m a big fan of song titles that seemingly make no sense, especially when they are named after celebrities. The song, “Bill Murray” definitely falls into this category. I get the mental image of the Gorillaz sitting around jamming, with the sounds they produce, in this case via horns, a light-hearted bass, and the signature space-like keyboards, somehow capturing the essence of a particular person.