I know that I'm a bit behind the ball on this review, considering that this record was released on March 9th, but I've just been so inundated with new music lately, that it has been very difficult to focus on one album at a time. Because it's the beginning of a new decade, I feel that a lot of artists are doing their best to mold a part of the sound that will eventually define the decade, much like Radiohead arguably did in 2000 with the release of "Kid A." While their intention may not have been to define a new sound, they certainly laid the framework from which many bands built their respective sounds in the decade to come. Anyway, I digress. My point is that there has been such an influx of new releases from new artists as well as established ones that has created a virtual mixtape in my headphones for the past week or two. With the free time that I have today, soaking up the warm weather on my porch and taking in the sounds of the great city of Washington D.C, I want to review one of these many records that has really stood out as a significant release: Broken Bells debut, "Broken Bells."
For those of you who don't know, Broken Bells is a new indie rock "supergroup" consisting of The Shins' vocalist and guitarist Brian Mercer and artist/producer Danger Mouse, billed more formally as Brian Burton. Burton is not only a multi-instrumentalist and member of Gnarls Barkley, but he has also produced Gorillaz "Demon Days," and Beck's "Modern Guilt" among others. His fingerprints are all over this record while Mercer grounds the record with flourishing guitar as well as his all-to-easily recognized vocal track.
The first track of the record, "The High Road" was also the first single to be released by Broken Bells, and it's easy to see why. This song is easily the most accessible on the album and most accurately showcases all of the bright spots that you could imagine would come from this collaboration. A wavy, dream-like beat accented by the all-too-fitting vocal track from Mercer. As soon as your start to bob your head to this track, you realize that this track really doesn't need to stray too far from the formula, but it actually manages to get even better in the breakdown as Mercer sings, "It's too late to change your mind, you let loss, be your guide." Such a wonderfully layered track that really sets the mood for the rest of the record, which elongates the spacey, atmospheric sound.
"Broken Bells" follows up "The High Road with another particularly strong track, "Vaporize." The track starts out like a typical Shin's track, with Mercer laying heavy on the vocal reverb and strumming a familiar chord progression, but as soon as the relentless beat kicks in you feel the true strength of the track. The vocal effects help build atmosphere that "The High Road" laid the foundation for, and there are several points in the track the just feel weightless, in a good way.
The major problem with this record is that this spacey atmosphere is stretched way too thin, and after the first two really strong tracks, the individuality of each song really takes a backseat to the overall theme. One of the biggest examples of this phenomenon is "Your Head is on Fire" which just seems to push itself into the background with it's droll simplicity and chants. "Trap Doors" isn't much better.
That being said, there are still some gems to be found on this record. "Sailing to Nowhere" sounds very familiar, most definitely a page out of Radiohead's book, but it serves as a prime illustration of what the individual aspects that these artists bring to the table can produce. The chorus of "Citizen" offers not only haunting lyrics, but an exquisite melody that dances around the keystrokes of accompaniment.
After all is said and done, this record will grow on you the more you listen to it: however, actually listening to this record without your full attention will prove to be a bit difficult. While the qualities of this record are spellbinding, the atmosphere that these qualities create makes it so easy for the music to push itself into the background. Eventually, you'll find yourself not even listening to Mercer's lyrics, but instead just thinking of his voice as another sonic instrument within the swirl of sound. If you give this record your full attention and see how the lyrics content seems to intrinsically weave itself around the universal atmosphere, it will definitely stand out as one of the best records to be released thus far in 2010.
8.4 out of 10
