Gnarls Barkley - St Elsewhere

they cried. Bollocks it is. Try telling that to Gnarls Barkley. Not just a very silly name, but a true ‘internet phenomenon’, they went to Number One on the strength of downloads alone, without even having a single record on the shelf.

‘Crazy’, though already being bloody massive before this album even hits the ground, is bloody massive even without the sales figures attached. Jerking beats and vocals packed to the brim with soul, it’s about as exciting as daytime radio will ever get. Like every band with a Bloody Good Debut, there’s now a one hit wonder tag to beat off.

Thankfully for Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo, they’ve got a great big stick to hit it with. Several in fact. ‘Smiley Faces’ has all the hallmarks of that super hit. Tinges of Motown and a refeshingly catchy edge, it’s all good fun, but worthwhile at the same time. Top that with a cover of Violent Femmes (which is always a good thing in our book - Ed), and we’re onto a winner. With angular so-hot-right-now beats, it’s indie-dance-tastic.

But beware! Not all is happy in the house of Barkley. There’s dark forces in this here record, and as St. Elsewhere goes schizo things get a little bit scary. ‘Just A Thought’ touches on suicidal tendencies, ‘Necromancing’ tries to get jiggy with corpses (yes, you did read that right) and the Gorillaz-esque ‘Boogie Monster’ mentions monsters in closets. Ooo-er!

‘St. Elsewhere’ isn’t perfect, but as things go it’s as close as we’re likely to get. Any album with a track called ‘Go Go Gadget Gospel’ has to be amazing, and with a whole summer to get under the skin, it really is. Ace.