 Under the cover of their alter-ego, Gnarls Barkley, ex-Goodie Mob soul machine Cee-lo Green and kitsch chasing DJ extraordinaire Danger Mouse have taken the excuse to do all sorts of cool things, like dress up as movie character duos, create psychedelic cover art explosions, toss off poorly thought-out Violent Femmes covers, and of course, let their freak flag fly high.
We¡¯re well aware of DM¡¯s penchant for these quirky concept albums (see his cartoon-related projects of past: Gorillaz, Dangerdoom), but beneath his accomplished digipop beats lies the soul of ol¡¯ Gnarls: Cee-lo. Tempering that high-pitched, God-given wail into his most accessible effort yet, Cee-lo displays a captivating vulnerability and honesty throughout: talking suicide in ¡°Just a Thought¡± and hinting at madness in the subtly subversive single ¡°Crazy.¡±
Long since compared to (Outkast¡¯s) Andre 3000, Gnarls Barkley finally catapults Cee-lo into the realm of his perennially better-selling record label brethren, having made recording history by reaching number one in the UK charts through download sales of ¡°Crazy¡± alone. While the album is hit and miss, the buzz around the project, as well as a few other solid gold hits (¡°Go Go Gadget Gospel,¡± ¡°Smiley Faces¡±), easily make St. Elsewhere this year¡¯s The Love Below. But just as ¡°Hey Ya!¡± is rarely heard in the streets today, how long will ¡°Crazy¡± last? Berwin Song
St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley is available at amazon.com and the iTunes Music Store.
|
Tokyo Trial Tells Story Never to Forget
"Mission: Impossible 3" Premiered in Beijing on Sunday
Jackie Chan, Sun Li Help South Koreans "Feel China"
HK Ent Industry Slams Privacy Violation
