CD Odyssey Disc 462: Broken Bells

I’m feeling very much in the holiday spirit this week, by which I mean I’d like the holiday season to begin.

I could have reviewed this album yesterday, but I wanted to get a couple listens under my belt.  I hear this album a fair bit in the house (it is a Sheila mainstay) but it is often on shuffle with other music and I wanted to grok it in its fullness as a complete album instead.

Disc 462 is… Broken Bells (Self-Titled) 

Artist: Broken Bells

Year of Release: 2010

What’s up with the Cover?  I have no idea.  Some sort of pink geometric shape, or maybe a microscopic space ship flying through Inner Space (hence the open port in the top left).  It also reminds me of a paper lantern without a proper candle.

How I Came To Know It:  Sheila is a big Shins fan, and I believe she got wind of this spin off project of James Mercer teaming up with Danger Mouse.  I think she heard it on the radio, of all places.

How It Stacks Up:  This is the only Broken Bells album.  In terms of Mercer’s other work, it holds its own with his Shins catalogue, which is saying something.

Rating:  4 stars

Over the weekend I went to my first after-hours party in a while.  Despite good company, I didn’t stay long and the biggest reason was I simply couldn’t figure out how to dance to the music the kids are playing these days (dubstep?).  Those who like it must have their reasons, but for me it just doesn’t have any dynamics or melody to get my limbs moving.  Every time I thought it was about to launch into something interesting it would just subside into that slow, directionless beat forcing me to shuffle along, rather than cut a rug.

Music by James Mercer does not suffer from this lack of direction.  He always has beautiful melodies, although his work with the Shins trends toward the folksy side of pop.  That is where collaborator Danger Mouse comes in on “Broken Bells” giving Mercer’s melodies a nice hip hop groove that infuses them with a disco-like energy.

The result sounds like a cross-breeding of the Shins with the Gorillaz.  This is not surprising given that Danger Mouse also produced my favourite Gorillaz album (2005’s “Demon Days” reviewed way back at Disc 138).

Often drawn in by the Shins haunting lyrics, with Broken Bells I found myself rarely trying to pay attention to the words of the songs.  Even when I lent an effort to doing so, searching for something good to quote for the blog, I was quickly led off of my intent and back to just listening to Mercer’s voice as another instrument, carrying melody over top of the natural groove of the song.

This is not a complaint, either.  This is one smooth record.  In addition to great songwriting, it makes very judicious production and arrangement decisions throughout.  Backup vocals often come in mid-bar, sometimes supporting the chorus, sometimes just a mood-establishing hum.  Danger Mouse knows when a piano is called for, when to go with guitar and when to go full electronica.  In every case the mix is a delicious soup of sound.

The album's opening track, "The High Road," begins with a jazz odyssey on what I think is the organ, but that quickly bounces into one of Mercer’s effortless melodies before too much harm is caused.  Danger Mouse wraps the production around Mercer’s genius like a blanket, shielding out the cold disconnect sometimes present in Shins songs.

“The Ghost Inside” has Mercer’s falsetto on full display, and with its urgent groove and synth-organ riff this song was that most uncommon thing; a radio hit that deserves to be as popular as it is.

Despite “Ghost Inside’s” success it is the album as a whole that casts a larger spell than any individual track.  There is a natural and consistent flow that draws you in, and before you know it it’s over and you’re back to track one pressing replay, wondering where one song ended and another began.  The singles stand out less, principally because of the solidly high standard of the music throughout.  Does it lack a small bit of range as a result?  Yes, but if there were more peaks and valleys it would actually detract from the mood it establishes.  Note to techno: this is proof that you can have this effect and not be boring in the process.

It is no accident that “Broken Bells” only has ten songs, none of which are over four and a half minutes.  In 2010 this type of studio restraint is admirable.  A record is like any work of art; it should be only as complex as it needs to be to tell its story and no longer.  Broken Bells gets this formula right.  I wish more artists were equally judicious in their song choices.

I feel like a lot of what Mercer learned from this record went into the new Shins album “Port of Morrow” and I’m glad that it did.  “Broken Bells” proves that there is still good pop music being made that is both danceable and intelligently composed.  Occasionally, this good music even bubbles up onto mainstream radio. 

Best tracks:  The High Road, Your Head is On Fire, The Ghost Inside, Trap Doors, The Mall and Misery