With the debut of their second album “Demon Days,” cartoon band Gorillaz opened up a new store on Prince Street in Soho last May complete with Gorillaz famous cartoon vinyl toys and artwork. Damon Albarn’s cartoon side project casts animated characters into a band called Gorillaz, which took the music, cartoon, and urban vinyl toy worlds by storm in 2001. Today, after major buzz about reported cartoon and TV deals, they’ve pulled together another album that’s part hip-hop, pop, dub, and dance—produced this time by DJ Danger Mouse which we wrote about previously regarding his remix of Jay-Z’s “Black Album” and the Beatles “White Album” into the “Grey Album” in our Label Lab Newsletter on iPod Culture and Music.

The Gorillaz store opening in Soho last month attracted music fans but an even larger dose or cartoon creators and vinyl figurine collectors. Gorillaz continues to mix-up the music scene with a strong emphasis on the creative alter-ego, but instead of just cool CD cover artwork, Albarn’s animated characters now have a little store to live in. Check it out at www.gorillaz.com; or www.kidrobot.com.