James Hewlett, famous in the music world for being the artist behind the cartoon band Gorillaz, recently shared a few new drawings of the band on Instagram. When asked about whether the new cartoons meant the group would be reuniting, Hewlett responded in the affirmative. "Yes Gorillaz Returns," he wrote. He shared drawings of guitarist Noodle and bassist Murdoc, confirming that work on the follow-up to 2011's The Fall is underway, REVOLT notes.

Damon Albarn, the musical mastermind behind the animated band, told the Sydney Morning Herald in October that he was eyeing 2016 for the release of the Gorillaz's next album. According to NME, the singer has plenty of material for the record.

"I can definitely see another Gorillaz-esque record at some point, yeah," Albarn said. "That will almost definitely happen. I could put a Gorillaz record out next week; I've got enough stuff I haven't finished."

He went on to say that making an album with Noel Gallagher in the future is a "distinct possibility" and highlighted his feelings toward Hewlett.

"There are points in every relationship where they fall out with people that they're close to and then they reconcile, hopefully, and actually, you know the relationship's probably in a healthier place as a result of that," he said.

Albarn is coming off a big year himself. He dropped his debut solo effort, Everyday Robots, back in April. The effort received rave reviews, making it to 32 on the Billboard 200 and 12 on the Top Rock Albums charts. Naturally, it was included in plenty of end-of-the-year lists — Music Times put it at number eight on the 10 Best Albums of 2014 collection.

"Don't worry: It isn't completely melancholy," Caitlin Carter wrote for MT. "There are uplifting moments on the album as well. The effort as a whole is akin to a journal. Some scribblings are observations (such as his critique of technology in the opener 'Everyday Robots'), some are autobiographical (such as 'You & Me') and others tell tales of his worldly encounters ('Mr. Tembo')."

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