Beloved duo Gnarls Barkley—Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse—have returned after almost two decades on hiatus. Their last album was The Odd Couple in 2008, after which the two returned to their solo careers. After 18 years, however, they released a new single, “Pictures”, on February 26, 2026.
“‘Pictures’ is like going back to square one, it’s a full circle moment,” Green said of the reunion in a press statement. “The spirit of Gnarls Barkley is always self-discovery. The sweet, the sad, and the strange; The universe, the adventure inside of yourself.”
Gnarls Barkley also announced their third and final album, Atlanta, to be released on March 6. The duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, Green’s hometown and where Danger Mouse spent his adolescent and college years. “Pictures” is reminiscent of a youth spent in Atlanta, specifically the city’s public train system. The album will possibly reflect the experience of growing up there as well.
“The song came from a childhood experience,” said Green. “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 8 am until 2:30 pm. 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.”
Gnarls Barkley Return For One Final Album Slated for March 2026
According to the press statement, Gnarls Barkley always intended to make a third album together. Unfortunately, “life and other creative pursuits intervened.” But the creative energy never faded, and the duo wanted to properly finish what they started. Finally, they made time to reconnect last year and get started on the final chapter.
Atlanta features 13 tracks, with “Pictures” falling in as the third song. While there’s not much to glean from the titles just yet, they serve as interesting jumping-off points for speculation. The album opens with “Tomorrow Died Today”, before leading into “I Amnesia” and “Pictures”. There’s also “Line Dance”, “Turn Your Heart Back On”, “Let Me Be”, “Sweet Evil”, “Boy Genius”, and several others. The final closers are “Sorry” and “Accept It”, which definitely spark some interest in the album’s flow.
Back in 2017, Green stated that he and Danger Mouse had a third project in the works. “We have already started on a new [Gnarls Barkley] album,” he told DJBooth at the time. “We’re halfway in, and we have some overtures from the other projects that may not have stood the test of time, we don’t know yet.”
There was another update in April 2025. But as of February 2026, Gnarls Barkley are back and ready to close the book on their creative partnership the way they intended.
Photo via Press/Coffee Talk Media
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