Monday, March 31, 2008

[outsideleft] I Can't Believe I'm Writing About Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley
The Odd Couple
(Downtown Recordings/Atl)

I can’t believe I find myself in 2008 writing about Gnarls Barkley, not because I think they are a worthless pop act; in fact they are one of the few worthy ones. “Crazy” is possibly the only song of now that people will still be singing into the next decade, surely at weddings and high school reunions, but I have witnessed an R&B cover band make a stab at it in a smoky, sparsely populated club, and those folks never let go of a song. It’s just that I had them pegged as being the next great participator in the sophomore slump, but here on their second record named for an outmoded TV show (I wonder what kind of wig Cee-Lo will rock for The Golden Girls, which assuredly is in the pipeline. Also, M*A*S*H is the obvious name for the eventual remix record) they are tight as Felix Unger’s asshole, parading a mix of spot-on pop frills over a bed of sultry melancholy.

On The Odd Couple, the group makes exactly that: odd bedfellows are organized out of stale easy listening and post-everything processing. The obvious hits should be addressed first. “Run” is Quincy Jones boogie, Supremes hands out shimmy and Aretha Franklin gospel soul power all condensed for the can’t-get-over-Austin-Powers set. Meaning that its 60s percolations are obvious as hell, but they feel weirdly fresh, like the way a Twinkie does when you crack open the seal. “Going On” is even better with a similar organ grinding its way under those handclaps and beats as Cee-Lo colds sweats classic I-gotta-go empty promises to wait for the girl that just can’t hang. Danger Mouse’s production is perfectly plastic, or maybe vinyl is the correct substrate, given the predominance of crackle in this record.

The song that I hope really takes over is “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul.” I had fear they were going to give Jewel’s saccharine classic the business like they did with Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone” on the last record, but not, it’s an honest question pondered over a dark Spanish guitar-touched groove one could picture Nina Simone sashaying through.

The rest of the record swings with similar ecclesiastic dexterity. The opener “Charity Case” is as much Radiohead as it is Astrud Gilberto, understanding, like both those artists, that the sun shines all the brighter when refracted in a teardrop. “Open Book” and “Would Be Killer” are both dark numbers that reminds me all the world of Tricky when he was at his hyperventilated, urban noir peak. “Whatever” is their simulacrum of classic mod insouciance, while “Surprise” shares traits with the bleached out soul of groups like The Lettermen.

Really, there is nary a bum track here, but there is a homogeneity in the overall sound that makes the songs in the latter half fall a little flat, only because you totally get it already by the time they come around. The ballad “No Time Soon” is exhausting in its hodgepodge of pop memorabilia. It’s like having someone show you their entire vintage lunchbox collection; it looks great from across the room, but the details are only of interest to the collector. But let me reiterate, each number here will sound brilliant when it slides out of a restaurant of hair salon sound system, and unlike most other things that do so, it might even have a longer life than the meal or the haircut.

5 comments:

  1. brilliant review
    msigur

    ReplyDelete
  2. [url=http://sunkomutors.net/][img]http://sunkomutors.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
    [b]microsoft collaboration software, [url=http://sunkomutors.net/]buy pirated software[/url]
    [url=http://sunkomutors.net/][/url] cheap copy of microsoft office nero 9 crack
    computer software to buy [url=http://sunkomutors.net/]shop software program[/url] adobe music software
    [url=http://sunkomutors.net/]adobe photoshop cs3 free trial[/url] buy software downloads
    [url=http://sunkomutors.net/]software like adobe photoshop[/url] discount music software
    nero 8 ultra [url=http://sunkomutors.net/]buy animation software[/b]

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good day !.
    might , perhaps very interested to know how one can reach 2000 per day of income .
    There is no need to invest much at first. You may start to get income with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.

    AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
    AimTrust represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.

    It is based in Panama with affiliates everywhere: In USA, Canada, Cyprus.
    Do you want to become really rich in short time?
    That`s your choice That`s what you really need!

    I feel good, I began to take up income with the help of this company,
    and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to select a correct companion who uses your money in a right way - that`s the AimTrust!.
    I earn US$2,000 per day, and my first investment was 500 dollars only!
    It`s easy to join , just click this link http://uqivebejej.freewebportal.com/yjiqum.html
    and lucky you`re! Let`s take our chance together to feel the smell of real money

    ReplyDelete
  4. [url=http://sapresodas.net/][img]http://vioperdosas.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
    [b]buy adobe software, [url=http://vioperdosas.net/]adobe software reseller[/url]
    [url=http://sapresodas.net/]commerce store offers software products[/url] trading software price winzip 12 download
    buy software to make [url=http://vioperdosas.net/]yahoo booting adobe photoshop cs3[/url] educational software india
    [url=http://sapresodas.net/]filemaker pro tutor[/url] cheap microsoft office home &
    [url=http://sapresodas.net/]office 2003 hack[/url] format hard drive for windows xp
    education discount software [url=http://sapresodas.net/]purchase software directly from[/url][/b]

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good day, sun shines!
    There have were times of hardship when I didn't know about opportunities of getting high yields on investments. I was a dump and downright stupid person.
    I have never thought that there weren't any need in large initial investment.
    Now, I'm happy and lucky , I started to get real money.
    It gets down to choose a correct partner who uses your funds in a right way - that is incorporate it in real deals, parts and divides the income with me.

    You may get interested, if there are such firms? I'm obliged to tell the truth, YES, there are. Please be informed of one of them:
    http://theinvestblog.com [url=http://theinvestblog.com]Online Investment Blog[/url]

    ReplyDelete