April 7, 2006

Gnarls Barkley: Crazy

Sparkling debut from the Kaiser Soze of psychedelic soul

So by last week revealing Gnarls Barkley to be the work of Danger Mouse and former Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo Green, NME may have spoilt the mystique but, really, there’s no chance of spoiling ‘Crazy’. It’s Marvin Gaye rolled fresh from the deep freeze, jolted back to life with the jump-leads from Andre 3000’s mink-lined monster truck, and pushed stagewards wearing nothing but James Brown’s pimp cloak. Simultaneously understated and magnificent, it’s how Gorillaz could have sounded if you didn’t still harbour that nagging suspicion that Damon Albarn might suddenly crack and confess that when he said he was into African music and experimental hip-hop it was, y’know, just a conceptual art-school gag. It is, in short, really rather good.

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