Plastic Beach LP

What's easy to miss on Plastic Beach is how deep the guest list runs past the marquee names. Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed get top billing, but the record also carries Mark E. Smith of the Fall, Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano, Gruff Rhys, and rappers Bashy and Kano, a spread that explains why critics praised Albarn's genre-hopping even when some felt the back half sagged. Beyond Stylo, the singles Superfast Jellyfish and On Melancholy Hill fill out that same restless range.