“Momentary Bliss” by Gorillaz (ft. Slaves & slowthai)

All things considered, “Momentary Bliss” appears to be a love song. The addressee, “Rita”, is meant to be symbolic of your typical romantic interest.  And it is she whom the singer is apparently speaking to throughout. But this is also a Gorillaz song, meaning that it can hold references to more-complicated, societal-wide ideas. For example, it is feasible that at certain points the vocalists are alluding to the concepts of mass complacency and an individual selling his soul. 

The metaphors which are featured in this song are actually complex enough to implicate such ideas. Indeed even the title appears to be based on an appeal the singer is making to the addressee to look at the big picture as opposed to being content with “momentary bliss”. So perhaps at the end of the day, we can say that the singer is expressing his feelings towards the person he loves while simultaneously trying to indoctrinate her on his countercultural worldview.

Facts about “Momentary Bliss”

The Gorillaz produced this track alongside Remi Kabaka. Kabaka is also one of the co-writers of “Momentary Bliss”.

Band member Damon Albarn is also one of the primary writers of this track. So are Slowthai and Slaves (Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent).

Parlophone Records released this track on 30 January 2020. It actually came out as the lead single from the Gorillaz’s 2020 project titled “Song Machine”. “Song Machine” is a multimedia, cartoon-and-music based initiative created by the Gorillaz.

Have Gorillaz worked with Slaves or slowthai before?

No. This project actually marks the Gorillaz’s first ever collaboration with both Slaves and slowthai.