Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

3.5/5
This is probably the album that I anticipated most coming into 2008. Their first album, St. Elsewhere, was amazingly creative and contained the best song of the decade in my opinion, “Crazy,” plus another gem in “Smiley Faces.” Now, on to their new sophomore release, The Odd Couple: While it doesn’t produce any individual tracks that top “Crazy” or “Smiley Faces,” it is a more solid, textured, and enjoyable album as a whole. Their lead single “Run” is a frenetic dance pop number with a video to match (it had to be pulled off MTV because it caused epileptic relapses). But that’s not even the best song on the album. “Going On” is probably my favorite, with a catchy melody and thick organ chords. “Whatever” overflows with apathetic attitude. “Surprise” is dark, Latin-influenced, and Beach Boys-esque, all at the same time. “Blind Mary” sounds like it could be a freaked-out Beatles song (and the fact that it’s an ode to marijuana doesn’t hurt the comparison). Cee-Lo's swoon is at it's best on "Neighbors". And “A Little Better” has an impeccable chord progression. The album effectively mixes warm beats with cold lyrics. No sophomore slump here.