Gnarls Barkley have made their long-awaited return with a new single, ‘Pictures’, taken from their upcoming final album ‘Atlanta’. Listen and find all the details below.
The US duo, comprising CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse, released their debut record ‘St. Elsewhere’ in 2006, before following it up with 2008’s ‘The Odd Couple’.
Now, 18 years on, they have reunited for their third and last LP, which is set for release next Friday (March 6) via 10k Projects/Atlantic Records. Pre-order/pre-save here.
‘Atlanta’ boasts soaring, gospel-tinged vocals from Green along with Danger Mouse’s intricately layered production. It pays tribute to the city that both bandmembers hail from, and was inspired by Atlanta’s MARTA public train system – a memory from their teenage years.
Per a press release, the album “serves as a capstone to the Gnarls Barkley story”.
“After the whirlwind success of their first two albums, the pair had always intended to record a third; life and other creative pursuits intervened, but the desire to finish what they started never faded,” it added.
“Last year, the duo reconnected and set aside the time to bring their final chapter to life.”
Green explained: “‘Pictures’ is like going back to square one – it’s a full circle moment. The song came from a childhood experience. I had a middle school principal who, every Friday would tell me to go when I would get to school. Without fail.
“I was in 8th grade and I would leave school and ride the train alone from 8am until 2:30pm. The hook of the song is literally about being on the train. When you are in transit it’s like a motion picture passing you by – staring out the window of the MARTA train.”
In the nostalgic, soulful cut, Green reflects on snapshots of his youth: “Jumped off the porch and left the yard/ Mama, you must really believe in God/ Into the sky I stare, say the same ol’ prayer/ But Wayne is still out there somewhere.” He adds: “Look both ways before crossing/ No talking to strangers/ A shoestring from my sneakers held my house key/ A minute goes by now it’s the past/ I hope life is saving the best for last.”
The forthcoming ‘Atlanta’ features 13 new songs, also including ‘Tomorrow Died Today’, ‘Line Dance’, ‘Turn Your Heart Back On’, ‘The Be Be King’ and ‘Accept It’.
The full tracklist for Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Atlanta’ is:
01. ‘Tomorrow Died Today’
02. ‘I Amnesia’
03. ‘Pictures’
04. ‘Line Dance’
05. ‘Turn Your Heart Back On’
06. ‘Let Me Be’
07. ‘Cyberbully’
08. ‘Perfect Time’
09. ‘Sweet Evil’
10. ‘Boy Genius’
11. ‘The Be Be King’
12. ‘Sorry’
13. ‘Accept It’
Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 debut album earned critical acclaim with numerous awards and nominations, including at the Grammys and BRITs.
The huge breakout single ‘Crazy’ topped the charts around the globe, and became the first song ever to reach Number One in the UK based solely on digital downloads. It remained at the top of the UK singles chart for nine consecutive weeks, achieving the longest run since 1994.
Green has also released six solo albums, the latest being 2020’s ‘CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway’. He is also known for his work with Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob.
Recent years have seen musician and producer Danger Mouse collaborate on projects with the likes of Karen O, Black Thought, and Broken Bells.
In 2017, he revealed that plans to reunite with Gnarls Barkley bandmate CeeLo Green had been scrapped because he was too busy drowning his sorrows over Donald Trump’s US election win.
“I’ll say this: CeeLo and I have always been in touch and we’ve always remained friends and still do and always have a creative desire,” Danger Mouse explained at the time. “That was a part of our lives that never really felt over and never really felt finished and he and I still do discuss it a lot.
“So that means there’s never not been a potential in my head, so it’s definitely a possibility.”
In 2015, CeeLo Green said: “We need another Gnarls album and so do the people.” He added: “We just have to set aside the time. But we did ‘St. Elsewhere’ in a week, because we only had 10 days to be productive.”