When former Goodie Mob singer and rapper Cee-Lo teamed up with DJ Danger Mouse of The Grey Album fame, their work was expected to be a little left-of-center. They cranked out an album, St. Elsewhere, and released it earlier this summer. The product was outright weird.
DJ Danger Mouse brought the beats, bringing more complexity than he lent Gorillaz. Cee-Lo brought his high-pitched voice to the party with few raps and more soul than all the Ciara- and Usher-wannabe artists’ latest albums out now. They came up with a new name, Gnarls Barkley, which perfectly captures the inexplicable oddity of the deranged duo.
The single “Crazy”, which is the most normal-sounding track on the CD, contains a soul sample with a ghostly chorus surrounding a steady, deep bass line and makes for one of the most interesting but simplistic beats in years. Cee-Lo tops off the trance-like music with pleasant thoughts of insanity, and you soon get lost in his world.
The rest of the album is just as musically and lyrically fascinating as “Crazy.” The first track, “Go-Go Gadget Gospel,” shows Cee-Lo at his most soulful, belting out boasts of having the best beats and how you can’t help but love them. He’s preaching the truth for the most part, with a looping horn sample and clapping snares that seem ready to bust through the wall with spastic fervor.
The title track slows things down quite a bit, and because of that shows the weakness in Gnarls Barkley’s seemingly perfect formula. They seem dull and mismatched when taking things slow. Thankfully, it’s the only slow track on the CD.
The Violent Femmes’ cover “Gone Daddy Gone” fares much better. A steady keyboard beat mechanizes the song, but a touch of drums and cymbals on the chorus keeps its rock characteristics intact.
In “Just A Thought,” tortured drums and cymbals crash around a placid bass line, a perfect compliment to Cee-Lo’s own tortured soul and suicidal thoughts. Then the boys quickly turn up the energy on “Transformer,” where Cee-Lo raps lines about changing for his girl, set to a swirling circus beat that never loses steam and will have your head spinning.
“On-Line” doesn’t deal with the Internet, but a recreational substance that is usually served on mirrors, and the boys of Gnarls Barkley officially creep out everyone and have their actual sanity questioned with “Necromancing,” a sordid tale of necrophilia.
The most perplexing track on St. Elsewhere is the disco closer “The Last Time.” Gnarls throws out the weird talk about dead people and suicide and sings about the pure pleasure of dancing. A classic funk-disco beat compliments the simple drum arrangement and Cee-Lo’s smooth croon, making the track a welcome ending to such a brain-taxing album.
4 stars
Gnarls.tif caption: Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere