Grade: A | Genre: "The production is progressive, but the reason is retro. The chords are cold-blooded murder. I named it neo-necro." (From "Necromancer")
Summary: For now, Gnarls Barkley will just be the newest and most eccentric act to stir your musical senses. They are primed to break the mold like Gorillaz did and should be on your radar. My only complaint...what took so long?

Review: DJ Danger Mouse became infamous for brilliantly mixing Jay-Z's Black Album over The Beatles White Album. With support from Jay Z himself, The Grey Album (free download), as it is appropriately called, buzzed the underground and created a strong cult following that included trend setters like Gorillaz who tapped Mouse to produce the follow up to their self-titled debut. The end product, Demon Days, torched the competition and created wannabes out of those that everyone wanted to be.

Now, DJ Danger Mouse teams with Cee Lo, from the "Dirty South's" Goodie Mob, to create Gnarls Barkely. Both are respected in their own right individually, but when you combine the two, you get an epidemic of gnarly beats over retro vocals that feel postmodern at the same time. Imagine Marvin Gaye heading up Outkast at their most inventive and you're only three quarters of the way to what Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere has become.