Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
By: Patrick Vu | Category: Album Reviews | 06/14/06 | 11:20 AM
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 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. |
St. Elsewhere begins like a carnival on crack with "Go Go Gadget." A film projector cranks to unveil a whirlwind of horns and gospel chants belting out "I'm Free!" There's no subtlety or easing into the Gnarls Barkley sound...as if there is a definition of their sound. It's "shapeless, formless, heart is enormous / Bore this, I've worn this, no never what the norm is." As the title implies, "Go Go Gadget" has a lot underneath its trench coat and will use everything up its sleeve (and under its hat) to pull you out of your seat.
"I remember when...I remember, I remember when I..." first heard the lead single, "Crazy." It was a throw back to what made Old School R&B so emotional. Like a familiar smell, this is the unlikely jam of the summer and one that will bring back memories for years to come. From the melodies that are set on cruise control to the most wicked voice on the airwaves today, "Crazy" is a special treat for the programmed radio friendly masses that don't know any better.
Gnarls Barkley doesn't slow the pace on tracks like "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Smiley Faces." Both are contrasting sounds of each other where "Daddy" could be something out of Pizzicato 5's anthology and "Smiley Faces" takes us back to the original vibe of Motown with pick me up lyrics like "And I can tell you know how hard this life can be / But you keep on smilin' for me."
"Feng Sui" is Cee-Lo back to his rap roots but updated for the Gnarls Barkley sound. His is a quirky voice that grabs your interest and steers the jam. Whether he's singing or spitting rhymes, Cee-Lo can do now wrong with his technique.
Even when they try to slow things down a bit, tracks like "Just a Thought" still contain thundering percussions that doesn't allow you sit back and relax. Even the transition to a seemingly slower groove is cut short when "Transformer" blazes through your speakers with each break becoming more and more spastic. It's the theme of St. Elsewhere, which allows you get more out of each listen.
Who says a long distance relationship can't work? "Almost half the album was done via e-mail," says Cee-Lo. "He would send me something, and I would go into the studio and cut it." Adds Danger Mouse, "We were really competing, trying to impress each other. I was just trying to send him the most out-there stuff, and he was trying to outdo it." (SOHH.com)
So who is Gnarls Barkley? Is it an eyebrow raising play on NBA tough man Charles Barkley's name? Is it a new identity or group or artist? 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?
Release Date: May 9, 2006
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