Music Review: Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple |
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March 25th, 2008 | Music Reviews |
The second coming album from the "Crazy" success of their first effort, Gnarls Barkley has just released a pretty solid album.
Let's face it- Gnarls Barkley has a lot to live up to- the success of their song "Crazy" has been unmatched in recent years. The genre' bending anthem found universal acclaim among a huge base of fans for it's unique and hard to define sound.
Why does Gnarls Barkley have such a unique sound? Most of it lies, in my opinion, in the amazing talent of beat master Danger Mouse (whose own success was launched through the viral mix mashing of Jay Z and Beatles tunes).
I must say, the only thing I hated from the first Gnarls Barkley record was how short the songs were. To me this album sounded more like a demo CD (some songs were less than 2 minutes in length). I am happy to report that " The Odd Couple" is a much more substantial album in a few different ways. First, there are 13 glorious tunes on this record. Next, the Gnarls sound remains essentially there but expanded into even more interesting sound scapes that do a good job of mixing tones, rhythm, and even acoustic instrumentation.
My initial impressions remains however, I don't see a hit as huge as "Crazy" on this record. Perhaps even despite this, since the majority of the songs are instantly memorable and showcase the vocal talents of Cee Low Green. In my opinion, while a huge hit may be lacking on this record, the band as a whole has developed and improved dramatically since "St. Elsewhere".
[sniplet downloads]
