New Vibrations
Gnarls Barkley
The Odd Couple
Atlantic
March 18, 2008
I don't know about you, but when I hear that an artist with a recent smash hit single is releasing a new album, I get nervous. It seems that sometimes they feel such pressure to put out another super-catchy, super-popular tune that they jam up, and the entire album rings hollow, just an attempt to jump back to the tops of the charts. And when the band is one with a hit as unique as Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" (off of 2006's St. Elsewhere), the stakes are set high: Will they try to force a hit to follow up or go with their natural (albeit sometimes very strange) flow?
Luckily, the two-person musical collaboration that is Gnarls Barkley is savvy enough about how music should be done that their new album, The Odd Couple, does not feel forced at all; rather, it's a smooth, creative continuation of their signature eerie/poppy/beautiful sound, with slight experimentation with a '70s feel. Rapper and vocalist Cee-Lo Green (Thomas Callaway) lends his hoarse but melodic voice to the tracks, while multi-instrumentalist and producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) layers his sometimes stuttering, sometimes smooth percussions and synthesizer (as well as, perhaps, some real instruments?) underneath, bolstering Cee-Lo's vocals. Danger Mouse is perhaps best known for producing Gorillaz's Demon Days.
This musical philosophy has carried through to their newest album. The album, which was so highly anticipated that fan messageboards were speculating on how the album would turn out based on the earlier-released tracklist alone, has no runaway hits like "Crazy" but overall is very strong. The whole album has a cohesive, moody feel (alternately angry, childish and detached), but no songs stand out as an attempt to serve up another palatable single for the charts to eat up. This independence of what-is-expected is typical of their collaboration, and it works for them: They are hard to define, unpinnable maybe, but brilliantly good at doing so without being too strange to listen to.
The album is brooding, certainly, but not heavy. The duo tackles serious business - death, deception, isolation - without freaking out about it, and in fact in such a way that you might find yourself bopping along before you realize what the words he is crooning have to do with very un-pop matters.
The album opens with "Charity," which features handclaps (which recur in the album, lending an organic sound to support that of Cee-Lo's voice over Danger's synth), and xylophone-type sounds over electronic ones. And coasting through all, as on many of the tracks, is Cee-Lo's slightly hoarse falsetto, which in the next track, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?" is absolutely haunting. Slow and contemplative, with his voice occasionally breaking (to effect, not cheesily), he sings "I wonder if I'll live to be old now, getting high cause I feel so alone now." Taking the freedom to drift through his songs, but revving them up sometimes with force, Cee-Lo's voice is often the driving force behind the faltering instrumentals.
Another kind of song on the album is the sort in double-time, for example the third track, "Going On." The beat becomes fast, furious, punctuated with hand-claps and Cee-Lo's voice attacking each syllable, but melodically. His ability to chomp words but still carry a tune may very well be a remnant of his rapping days.
Occasionally the duo experiments with jacked-up '70s Motown cheer, concealing lyrics like "Run children, run for your life!" But a couple tracks later, on "Open Book," he hoarsely screams his words over sparse stuttering electric drum beats and synth strings. My favorite song on the album, "Blind Mary," played with a carnival-esque sound, lending an eerie sound to the smooth vocals. The lyrics on this album are also genius: in this song, he sings, "She has no idea that I'm ugly/so I have absolutely nothing to hide/because I'm so much prettier inside."
The album ends with "A Little Better," a pondering but hopeful song about the hope that perhaps all this madness isn't so bad after all. Is it a statement on their part? Perhaps. Either way, this album is definitely worth a listen. It's a little bit of everything manic and nutty and fun about pop and hip-hop and alternative rock, and it is interesting (and refreshing) to see how the duo works with it.
- Vanessa Verdine
Panic at the Disco
Pretty. Odd.
Fueled by Ramen
March 25, 2008
Hats off to Pete Wentz. He's the de facto frontman of the biggest teen-rock band around, he's dating a pop starlet, and he's managed to pick up some of the best new groups around- as proven by Panic at the Disco with their sophomore album, Pretty. Odd.
Panic is now sans "!," apparently as a sign of their maturity as a band. It could be called a senseless gesture if it were not for the fact that the band has, in fact, matured.
I went into Pretty. Odd. expecting an "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" part two. This wouldn't have been so terrible, but it would not have been anything remarkable, either.
On the opening track, "We're So Starving," my expectations were shattered. The song is a tongue-in-cheek greeting to the album: "We're so sorry we've been gone/We were busy writing songs for you." They maintain their Panic sense of humor, but the melody is clean and catchy, Queen-esque harmonies are featured and Radiohead-fat guitars burn in the background. This album is something entirely different.
Gone are the ridiculously long song titles, the constant obsession with cabaret (don't worry, there is still just enough left). Instead, we move from the hints of multi-instrumental tracks on "Fever" to full-out orchestra playgrounds. We get brass-and-tambourines from Chicago, and even a Dylan-inspired folky tune.
With the change, however, there was something else lost. I'll admit it: I totally rocked out to "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" in high school, not hitting the high notes - but not for lack of trying. And I banged my head to the epic techno breakdown in "The Only Difference..."
But you won't find any of these boiling moments on Pretty. Odd. Everything is fun, catchy, ambitious and impressive. But nothing is going to make me press the gas down any harder.
Perhaps it really is best that Panic dropped the ! for this album. Something of the little extra edge is gone. But like the new name, the album flows better, has more coherency and is less kitschy.
Well done, Pete.
- John Kernan
The Odd Couple
Atlantic
March 18, 2008
I don't know about you, but when I hear that an artist with a recent smash hit single is releasing a new album, I get nervous. It seems that sometimes they feel such pressure to put out another super-catchy, super-popular tune that they jam up, and the entire album rings hollow, just an attempt to jump back to the tops of the charts. And when the band is one with a hit as unique as Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" (off of 2006's St. Elsewhere), the stakes are set high: Will they try to force a hit to follow up or go with their natural (albeit sometimes very strange) flow?
Luckily, the two-person musical collaboration that is Gnarls Barkley is savvy enough about how music should be done that their new album, The Odd Couple, does not feel forced at all; rather, it's a smooth, creative continuation of their signature eerie/poppy/beautiful sound, with slight experimentation with a '70s feel. Rapper and vocalist Cee-Lo Green (Thomas Callaway) lends his hoarse but melodic voice to the tracks, while multi-instrumentalist and producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) layers his sometimes stuttering, sometimes smooth percussions and synthesizer (as well as, perhaps, some real instruments?) underneath, bolstering Cee-Lo's vocals. Danger Mouse is perhaps best known for producing Gorillaz's Demon Days.
This musical philosophy has carried through to their newest album. The album, which was so highly anticipated that fan messageboards were speculating on how the album would turn out based on the earlier-released tracklist alone, has no runaway hits like "Crazy" but overall is very strong. The whole album has a cohesive, moody feel (alternately angry, childish and detached), but no songs stand out as an attempt to serve up another palatable single for the charts to eat up. This independence of what-is-expected is typical of their collaboration, and it works for them: They are hard to define, unpinnable maybe, but brilliantly good at doing so without being too strange to listen to.
The album is brooding, certainly, but not heavy. The duo tackles serious business - death, deception, isolation - without freaking out about it, and in fact in such a way that you might find yourself bopping along before you realize what the words he is crooning have to do with very un-pop matters.
The album opens with "Charity," which features handclaps (which recur in the album, lending an organic sound to support that of Cee-Lo's voice over Danger's synth), and xylophone-type sounds over electronic ones. And coasting through all, as on many of the tracks, is Cee-Lo's slightly hoarse falsetto, which in the next track, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?" is absolutely haunting. Slow and contemplative, with his voice occasionally breaking (to effect, not cheesily), he sings "I wonder if I'll live to be old now, getting high cause I feel so alone now." Taking the freedom to drift through his songs, but revving them up sometimes with force, Cee-Lo's voice is often the driving force behind the faltering instrumentals.
Another kind of song on the album is the sort in double-time, for example the third track, "Going On." The beat becomes fast, furious, punctuated with hand-claps and Cee-Lo's voice attacking each syllable, but melodically. His ability to chomp words but still carry a tune may very well be a remnant of his rapping days.
Occasionally the duo experiments with jacked-up '70s Motown cheer, concealing lyrics like "Run children, run for your life!" But a couple tracks later, on "Open Book," he hoarsely screams his words over sparse stuttering electric drum beats and synth strings. My favorite song on the album, "Blind Mary," played with a carnival-esque sound, lending an eerie sound to the smooth vocals. The lyrics on this album are also genius: in this song, he sings, "She has no idea that I'm ugly/so I have absolutely nothing to hide/because I'm so much prettier inside."
The album ends with "A Little Better," a pondering but hopeful song about the hope that perhaps all this madness isn't so bad after all. Is it a statement on their part? Perhaps. Either way, this album is definitely worth a listen. It's a little bit of everything manic and nutty and fun about pop and hip-hop and alternative rock, and it is interesting (and refreshing) to see how the duo works with it.
- Vanessa Verdine
Panic at the Disco
Pretty. Odd.
Fueled by Ramen
March 25, 2008
Hats off to Pete Wentz. He's the de facto frontman of the biggest teen-rock band around, he's dating a pop starlet, and he's managed to pick up some of the best new groups around- as proven by Panic at the Disco with their sophomore album, Pretty. Odd.
Panic is now sans "!," apparently as a sign of their maturity as a band. It could be called a senseless gesture if it were not for the fact that the band has, in fact, matured.
I went into Pretty. Odd. expecting an "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" part two. This wouldn't have been so terrible, but it would not have been anything remarkable, either.
On the opening track, "We're So Starving," my expectations were shattered. The song is a tongue-in-cheek greeting to the album: "We're so sorry we've been gone/We were busy writing songs for you." They maintain their Panic sense of humor, but the melody is clean and catchy, Queen-esque harmonies are featured and Radiohead-fat guitars burn in the background. This album is something entirely different.
Gone are the ridiculously long song titles, the constant obsession with cabaret (don't worry, there is still just enough left). Instead, we move from the hints of multi-instrumental tracks on "Fever" to full-out orchestra playgrounds. We get brass-and-tambourines from Chicago, and even a Dylan-inspired folky tune.
With the change, however, there was something else lost. I'll admit it: I totally rocked out to "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" in high school, not hitting the high notes - but not for lack of trying. And I banged my head to the epic techno breakdown in "The Only Difference..."
But you won't find any of these boiling moments on Pretty. Odd. Everything is fun, catchy, ambitious and impressive. But nothing is going to make me press the gas down any harder.
Perhaps it really is best that Panic dropped the ! for this album. Something of the little extra edge is gone. But like the new name, the album flows better, has more coherency and is less kitschy.
Well done, Pete.
- John Kernan
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