James Mercer and Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) want their project Broken Bells to be seen, and heard, as an honest-to-goodness band, not a side-project dalliance. It's a little tricky to do that when first listening to their self-titled debut album, since they're such well-known and distinctive talents: Mercer crafted singularly bittersweet indie pop with the Shins, while Burton brought the Beatles and Jay-Z together on The Grey Album and went on to shape sounds for equally omnivorous artists like Beck and Gorillaz. Mercer's songwriting skills and Danger Mouse's production mastery sound like a potent combo, and they are, when the pair balances its ambitions and respective strengths. Mercer's vocals and melodies will almost certainly evoke the Shins to some degree or another, but he and Burton steer clear of the bright pop that countered that band's gloomier moments in favor of winding melodies and mellow atmosphere with lush production and arrangements.
Condition:NEW. Brand New Factory Sealed
TRACK LISTINGS
1 The High Road 3:52
2 Vaporize 3:29
3 Your Head Is On Fire 3:04
4 The Ghost Inside 3:18
5 Sailing To Nowhere 3:46
6 Trap Doors 3:19
7 Citizen 4:29
8 October 3:39
9 Mongrel Heart 4:23
10 The Mall and Misery 4:06
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