Broken Bells

The initial buzz around the debut by indie supergroup Broken Bells centered on how out of character this collaboration with The Shins' James Mercer was for auteur songwriter-producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton. But such a reading focuses on the hip-hop/electronica side of Burton's previous projects while forgetting that he made his name with The Grey Album, a remix project built on clever, multi-faceted samples from the Beatles' druggy experimental phase. In keeping with that woozy vibe, Broken Bells is a close sonic cousin to 2009's The Last Laugh by Joker's Daughter, a low-profile collaboration with UK folkie Helena Costas that foregrounded Burton's love of dreamy psychedelia. Mercer's roots in shoegazing indie pop, oblique lyrics and diffident vocals steer the songs closer to 4AD Records than Syd Barrett, and the prominent string arrangements give the album a lush, three-dimensional sound. Aside from an uncharacteristic soul-man falsetto that inches "The Ghost Inside" towards Gnarls Barkley territory, Mercer sounds pretty much like he always does, but in the wake of the disappointingly dull Wincing the Night Away and the Shins' subsequent breakup, there's a sense of artistic reinvigoration here that bodes well for his next project.