New Releases Tuesday - 5/9

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (Downtown)There's no doubt that Cee-Lo Green is indeed a soul machine; and when paired with the hottest indie producer in the game, the end result is a brilliant new project with massive underground cred, yet loaded with mainstream appeal. Case in point, lead single "Crazy" just strolled into its 6th straight week at the top of the UK singles charts. If for some reason you haven't heard what will likely be the single of 2006, get your ass over to the Gnarls MySpace page and crank that shit up! For everyone else who hasn't lived under a rock the last few weeks, check out this great performance on Top of the Pops where the Gnarls airline crew slows things down a bit and cranks up the soul. As much as I wanted to declare St. Elsewhere my top album of year without hearing anything else coming out in the next seven months, turns out Gnarls Barkley are mere mortals as not every track here reaches the brilliance of "Crazy." That being said, this is still a shoe-in for my end of year top 10 list and they've already got my vote for "best new artist" of 2006.

Grandaddy - Just Like The Fambly Cat (V2)
Jason Lytle is packing up and moving to Montana, but he left us with one final Grandaddy album to enjoy while he reevaluates his life and contemplates his next musical direction.

World Party - Dumbing Up (Seaview)
Karl Wallinger's 5th World Party album finally sees the light of day in America a mere 5 and a half years(!) after its original UK release. Unfortunately, things have been a bit rough for this Welsh pop genius since the last time we've heard from him. Not satisfied with the handling of his '97 release Egyptology, he terminated his major label deal with Chrysalis/EMI. Not long after, his manager died of cancer. Then, in 2001, a few months after the original release of Dumbing Up, he suffered a serious aneurysm which put him out of commission for two years. Luckily, things are finally getting back together for Wallinger. He's started his own label, is re-releasing his entire back catalog and even played a gig at this year's SXSW. Even for hardcore fans who already own the import, this domestic version is worth picking up for its inclusion of two new tracks and a bonus DVD that includes a complete World Party video anthology.

Neil Young - Living with War (Reprise)
"Let's Impeach the President"...couldn't have said it better myself, Neil.

Also this week...

Ane Brun - A Temporary Drive (V2)
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (Bada Bing)
Black Heart Procession - The Spell (Touch & Go)
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Heartbroken EP (Merge)
Danielson - Ships (Secretly Canadian)
Eighteenth Day of May - S/T (Hannibal)
Electric Soft Parade - The Human Body EP (Better Looking)
Everyothers - Pink Sticky Lies (Kill Rock Stars)
Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You (Anti)
Lansing-Dreiden - Dividing Island (Kemado)
Like Young - Last Secrets (Polyvinyl)
Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast (Matador)
Model/Actress - S/T (Thick Records)
Old Haunts - Fuel On Fire (Kill Rock Stars)
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah (Fearless)
Pony Up - Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes (Dim Mak)
Red Red Meat - S/T [Re-Issue] (Thrill Jockey)
Shearwater - Palo Santo (Misra)
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open (Interscope)
Stills - Without Feathers (VICE)
Test Icicles - Dig Your Own Grave EP (Domino)
Wooden Wand - Harem Of The Sundrum And The Witness Figg (5RC)