Does That Make Her Crazy?

When most people think about Gnarls Barkley, they naturally conjure images of Cee Lo and DangerMouse, typically in some outlandish costumes. But what about the other makers of the sound? What about, say, their bassist/cellist? What's she doing with her life?

If this is a question that has been keeping you up at night, well, wonder no more. Heather McIntosh, who played cello on The Odd Couple and performed with the duo on Saturday Night Live recently, is releasing an album with her band, The Instruments, on May 16. I'm not sure if it's simply a matter of a dearth of cellists out there, but McIntosh's resume reads like a who's who of indie music, ranging from the aforementioned GB to St. Vincent, Cat Power, M Ward and dozens of others in between.

Comprised of a number of members of Elephant 6, The Instruments draw from a number of influences, ranging from Sufi Devotional Music to old country waltzes. Their strength, though, lies in the fact that what we've got here is truly a talented bunch of musicians. Whether it’s McIntosh's lively cello or the tightly strummed guitar of Derek Almstead, The Instruments come across as a true bunch of professionals apparently having a good time on wax. I'm even going to go so far as to say that the couple of tracks below have some of the best drumming I've sampled in some time. Kudos to Eric Harris for that.

Ode To The Sea
Sounds Electric