Gnarls Barkley l The Odd Couple

Disclaimer: Zomg, an honest attempt at a credible album review!

After two days of assimilation, I'm listening to the new Gnarls Barkley record for perhaps the tenth time through. I figured this would be a good time to set down my thoughts about it for two reasons:

1. No time like the present.

2. I just got a tingle from "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)"

3. I'm at work. If I write these things in Outlook, I still seem busy.

So, three reasons.

I had pretty high expectations for this album going in - St. Elsewhere, their 2006 debut, was one of my three favorite albums of that year - strong, catchy, and consistent. I'm happy to say that, all in all, The Odd Couple is a worthy successor. Cee-lo and Danger Mouse have done it again.

Even after repeated listens, it's difficult to judge the better songs against the first album, which I've had two years to digest, because the novelty throws me off - I'm so familiar with the old songs that I derive an entirely different kind of enjoyment from hearing them. Additionally, the songs on the first record that struck me as "bad" initially (only a couple - like "Gone Daddy Gone") I've long since started to enjoy. So even then, things are subject to change - so "bad" songs on The Odd Couple might not strike me as bad a few months down the road. I only write this because there are about three times as many "bad" songs here - which is to say three. Art is subjective. The album is still really good.

In fact, it starts off strong - the first four songs are terrific, and include the aforementioned single "Run." They effectively recall the energy and groove of opening tracks of St. Elsewhere. Track three, "Going On" emerges (still!) as the hands-down winner, hitting the listener (well, this listener) the same way that "Smiley Faces" and "Storm Coming" did the first time around. "Open Book" manages the same slow, unsettling crawl that characterized one of my favorite songs, "Necromancer" (and does so more successfuly than what might be considered that songs successor, "Would-Be Killer"). Mixed in with the other highlights of the record - which include "Surprise" and "Neighbors" - are the other two (present) disappointments, "Whatever" and "Blind Mary, songs I can only describe as clowny and kind of dumb. It closes incredibly well, with "A Little Better," an excellent song that has no real analog on the first one - just a good, solid, catchy song.

The Odd Couple has a lot to live up to. Gnarls Barkley's first single two years ago, "Crazy," was huge, and deservedly so. All in all, St. Elsewhere did what many might consider to be impossible - it offered a fresh, eclectic, new take on pop music. This record upholds St. Elsewhere's legacy admirably, with great music and very few low points. It's definitely something that any fan of the band can get behind.

A-.