Gnarls Barkley

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Gnarls Barkley is the latest project by Danger Mouse, producer of the infamous Grey Album, a mashup of The Beatles’ White Album with Jay-Z’s The Black Album, and virtual band Gorillaz. The lead singer goes by the name of Cee-Lo Green (real name Thomas Calloway). Cee-Lo’s music, as described on the official site, is “steeped in the gospel and blues traditions of the Southeast, merging timeless soul with experimental funk and hip hop.”

Gnarls Barkley’s debut album is St. Elsewhere. “Experimental funk and hip hop” would be a very general description of the music on this album, and rather than attempt to give a detailed analysis, i’ll simply say its excellent and one of the better albums i’ve heard in recent memory. They were on Conan earlier this week, singing their single “Crazy,” with band members dressed in towels and bathrobes. Eccentric? Perhaps. But that’s what makes it good.