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Although the origins behind the personage of Gnarls Barkley remain intriguingly undisclosed, it is no secret that “St. Elsewhere,” the first collaboration album between Atlanta rapper and singer Cee-Lo and mix-master producer Danger Mouse is likely to be the most genre-bending album of the summer.

The album’s first single, “Crazy,” has already made history as the first download-only track to hit the UK charts at No. 1, and with good reason. Resonating with the nostalgia of a Motown hit, “Crazy” features Cee-Lo belting out with the poignancy of a Southern soul singer atop Danger Mouse’s ’80s rock tempo and a strong bass line.

Overall, “St. Elsewhere” has an astoundingly inventive and cohesive sound that will leave you reaching for the repeat button.

Though the album’s cross-genre production (featuring everything from arcade game sounds to flamenco guitar) should sound disastrous, the conglomeration of seemingly unrelated sounds blend perfectly with Cee-Lo’s evocative voice.

From the synthesis of gospel, marching band horn riffs and an underlying garage beat on “Go-Go-Gadget Gospel,” the album’s first track, to the warped Motown featured on “Smiley Faces,” the album’s winning blend of the sentimental and the ultramodern is expressed in the lyrics to the sinister “Necromancer:” “The production is progressive / but the reason is retro.”

Other successes include an electro-pop cover of the Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone” and the psychedelic soul of “Boogie Man.” Gnarls Barkley may be mysterious, but its accessible songs are anything but.