apropos of nothing

Gnarls Barkley Narrowly Edge Out the Raconteurs in Album-Release Race

Courtesy of Atlantic Records


Last week, citing early Internet leaks, Gnarls Barkley moved up the on-sale date of their second album, The Odd Couple, from April 8 to April 1. This morning, they switched it, again, to March 25. Now, possibly in response to the Raconteurs’ just-announced rush release, they’ve bumped it up one more time to … well, about an hour ago. Sometime this afternoon, the record went on sale on digital services, and it’s already No. 2 on iTunes’ album chart.

In an e-mail we just got from Gnarls’ publicist, the band explain their reasoning, sort of: “With the shifting seasons, furtive romantic entanglements and fierce college basketball rivalries, the latter half of March can be confusing. People need to be soothed and inspired now.” In any case, we’re sure glad we aren’t the poor Warner Bros. executive who now has to explain to Jack White the unfeasibility of releasing his album yesterday.

Earlier: Jack White Shocks the Recording Industry — by Actually Paying Them a Cut!

Gnarls Barkley Narrowly Edge Out the Raconteurs in Album-Release Race