“Cracker Island” by Gorillaz (ft. Thundercat)

What the creative lyrics of Gorillaz’s “Cracker Island” point to, as noted throughout actually, is the concept of cultism. The reason an island plays an important part in this piece is because, well first of all based on Damon Albarn’s explanation, said location is symbolic. In other words, the song is not referring to a literal landmass. Instead, what the reference to an” island” actually alludes to is the concept of isolationism. And going back to cults and all, this would be more akin to mental/social isolation, i.e. a person relegating themselves to only one espoused way of thinking and interacting with likeminded individuals.

As presented, the vocalist himself is or was a resident of and adherent to the teaching of Cracker Island. But said decision ultimately proves to be to his dismay. Or as presented, he comes to realize that “the truth” he is being force fed is actually fabricated.

But since this is in fact a cult we’re talking about, maybe he was able to escape from it. Such is not forthrightly stated but is implied at the end of the second verse. However, in any event, whether he managed to get away or not, the moral of the story is that he “had to pay”, i.e. coming to greatly regret having gotten down with the Cracker Island crew, perhaps even at the price of his “soul”.

“Cracker”

It has to be noted that the word “cracker”, colloquially speaking, is a pretty well-known racial epitaph from the United States. It is a term that some use to insult White people in general. But the reason it has a negative connotation is because it more specifically points to the notion of an ignorant White person, i.e. being such that one White may even call another a cracker.

So it could be that the inspiration behind this piece are the likes of White supremacists, as some of such organizations, which many people perceive as being unintelligent, are generally known to conduct themselves like cults, on top of seemingly coming under more mainstream scrutiny as of late.

But that’s just a hypothesis in an attempt to make further sense out of the title. And what the song is actually speaking to, discernible, is that some cults are so without even realizing it. And the same can be said for their adherents, i.e. not knowing how deep they’ve fallen into a cult until it’s too late.

The Long and Short of “Cracker Island”

The lyrics of “Cracker Island” speak out against cultism. In doing so, the lyrics depict the practice as one that is deceptively ensnaring.

When was “Cracker Island” released?

The first time this song is on record as having been played was on 30 April. This was about a month before its release. And Gorillaz officially teased its forthcoming about a week after that.

Eventually Gorillaz officially dropped the song via Parlophone Records on the 22nd of June 2022. The track’s release marked Gorillaz’ first tune of the year in question.

Their most-recent singles prior to this one were those associated with “Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez”, a project the band came out with in 2020.

At the time of Cracker Island‘s dropping, it’s not connected to any Gorillaz album.

Credits

Greg Kurstin had a hand in both the producing and authoring of this song. He co-wrote it with Thundercat and Gorillaz’ frontman Damon Albarn.

The entire Gorillaz crew is recognized as co-producing “Cracker Island”, with an individual shoutout being given to band member Remi Kabaka Jr.

Thundercat, a well-known musician in his own right, also contributed vocally to “Cracker Island”. In addition to his vocals, he also played bass on the track.