Gnarls Barkley
The Odd Couple
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
***
The Odd Couple couldn’t be a more appropriate title for Gnarls Barkley’s second album, said Leah Greenblatt in Entertainment Weekly. Even after their song “Crazy” domineered the airwaves in 2006 and their album St. Elsewhere earned a Grammy, the curious pairing of Cee-Lo Green and DJ Danger Mouse seemed like a lark. This odd couple, however, have “proven surprisingly well-matched.” Their new album doesn’t boast an infectious hit, but it’s “compulsively listenable.” Where St. Elsewhere sneakily planted ruminations about paranoia amid catchy pop music, this album “goes all-out apocalyptic.” The Odd Couple is somber, often haunting, and at times unsettling, said Brett Johnson in the Associated Press. On “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul,” Cee-lo’s quavering falsetto starts off sounding hopeless: “Got some bad news this morning / which in turn made my day.” Over “Surprise’s” tumbling beats and the ba-ba-bas of backup singers, he reflects on alienation: “When all you need is to be met halfway / but nobody tries / don’t be surprised.” Those lyrics may sound like a bummer, but the music never leaves you “emotionally sandbagged.” Gnarls Barkley delivers pop with poignancy, said Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. It may take a few listens before you warm up to this album, but The Odd Couple offers a “guided tour through two of the more unique creative forces and cheerfully perverse psyches” in music today.