Premature Evaluation: Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

Danger Mouse has somehow draped a blanket of Mr. Sandman drowsiness over The Odd Couple. It's not a boring album -- well, some of it is -- but there's a late-night a.m. radio haze to the whole thing, so that even the more uptempo bits like the proto Soul Train, Austin Powers-y first single "Run," hit like an old time, sepia-flaired party jam ... on opiates. No Harding Flash and Pattern Analyzer necessary. If you can keep your eyes open despite the muted, soothing tones of the production, there are some fine songs, shining moments. Everyone's going to want "Crazy," of course, but it's safe to say life would be fine if we never heard it again. Plus, we're happy to see Cee-Lo putting his soulful pipes to different uses and going elsewhere than St. Elsewhere. We're also glad, too, for some reason, that there isn't another Violent Femmes cover. (Somehow that just didn't age well.) Something like the lovely, downcast "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" sounds so old, it already feel sorta classic in a way that goes beyond retro. "Gettin' high because I feel so low..." Again, thanks Danger Mouse. Then there are 11 other tunes.


from Stereogum

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