The Odd Couple Will Come Out

Gnarls Barkley's latest full-length album, The Odd Couple, is slated to drop April 8, 2008, but I caught an early preview and it's certainly worth the hype, or at least our hype.

It's mostly a 13-track expansion of their 2006 St. Elsewhere with a new mix of steady beats, the bounce of the '60s and Cee-Lo Green's talents as frontman. The songs already released, "Run" and "Who's Gonna Save My Soul," can't exactly speak for the whole album's sound, but definitely give listeners the range of pace and experimentation on the record.

I love The Odd Couple's songs where they completely fall into a Brit-pop obsession that in some ways sounds like the smoothness of The Zombies and then at times more sugary--where their space rock comes out.

iTunes on my computer (or, me) is in the process of finding the names for the songs-- the download was pleasantly lacking those--but I'm pretty sure the name of the track I'm thinking of is "Charity Case," and it's one of the many examples on the album where Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse break out the old stuff. Background singers and their "ba pa pa ba pa pa ba pa"s kind of remind me of the Partridge Family and David Cassiy's "I Think I Love You." I'm embarrassed for knowing that.

On the slower jam side, they pull it off with "A Little Better" and definitely "Who's Gonna Save My Soul." Cee-Lo's vocals dip and peak on these soulful beats that are simple enough to let you focus on the lyrics.

They kind of get philosophical on you, especially with "Neighbors," which is a beat that sounds like it could be put out by the the Fugees.

I think that listeners who are into St. Elsewhere will have no problems with this new one, and maybe there will be a second "Crazy," except hopefully it won't be played at every high school dance or as the soundtrack to every slideshow this year.

Web - gnarlsbarkley.com
Video - "Run"