Broken Bells – Broken Bells (Sony)
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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I got an advance of this record in late January, and was floored within 30 seconds. I then managed to forget about it for a month, and happily rediscovered it after beginning to see a small groundswell across the twittersphere.
This is a dream collaboration between Danger Mouse and the Shin’s James Mercer and is a short but impeccably dreamy piece of work. For Mercer, this was a much needed break from the Shins whose great records haven’t evolved much since the beginning. For Danger, who lost me a bit on Gnarls, has again proved himself the most versatile producer/composer on the planet.
The ten songs here borrow from late 60’s Beatles on “Sailing To Nowhere,” to a much simpler slower ballads like “Float” to dancier beats-driven tunes like “Citizen,” and my favorite the Cure-esque “The Waiting Game.” But the sound has a crisp and cohesive feeling, based in part on the lush Mercer vocals and Danger’s specific spacey vibe that runs throughout. But like a “fun sized” candy bar, you keep wishing there was more …