BY ZACHARY HERRMANN

Debuts rarely come with such lofty expectations as those attached to the self-titled Broken Bells release. Given the pedigree of the group's two collaborators - Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) and James Mercer (of The Shins) - it's understandable.  In the world of indie music, those two names are Dirk Diggler-in-bursting-light-bulbs big.

With the album's March 9 street date come and gone, it's not the least bit surprising to see in critical circles, at least, a good deal of backlash to Broken Bells. The whole scenario sort of feels like déjà vu all over again - there was the same degree of acceptance/disappointment with the Burton-produced Beck LP, Modern Guilt.

And maybe, at first, both of these albums do not quite reach the impossible bar set by the star billings. But great pop can be deceptively simple and, too often, easy to dismiss. This story of expectations and knee-jerk reactions is going to be Burton's cross to bear for his career - because of the caliber of people he chooses to work with, as well as his post-modern approach.

Plain and simple, the guy loves music and if he wears his influences on his sleeve, maybe it's because Burton is creating the sort of music he would want to listen to.  In this spirit, at the second Broken Bells show ever (following a pre-release night in L.A.), the best moments of the night were the set closing covers, performed with reverence and met with delight.

After playing through the album in sequence (more on that in a bit), the Mercer/Burton duo returned to the stage sans backing for an absolutely mesmerizing take on Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down." With the band returning for one final go, Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson & Clover" ended the night in rousing fashion, getting the biggest response out of the night from the sold-out crowd.

When the seven-piece band first took the stage less than an hour earlier, it was hard to gauge just how far Broken Bells the live band would be willing to divert from Broken Bells the studio group.

Perhaps faring slightly better than Gnarls Barkley (Burton's "day job"... sort of) as a live band, Broken Bells gave an impassioned reading of the 10-track, 36-minute debut, stretching out guitar solos here and there, laying a thicker groove when appropriate. Given the fairly close adherence to the script, the album standouts ("Vaporize", "The Ghost Inside", "October") saw Broken Bells at its best, until the two-song encore, of course.

Ever the elusive figure, Burton mostly kept to his drum kit, shrinking into a corner any time he picked up a guitar. However much he tried to recede into the background, his stamp was all over the arrangements, pure psychedelic-soul, both familiar and fresh. So much for remaining inconspicuous.   

Mercer - who, based on appearance, could have easily disappeared into the hipster throngs outside the venue around Bedford Avenue - was only slightly chattier, speaking up on occasion. If any huge criticism could be levied against Broken Bells (the live band), it'd have to be for drowning out Mercer's voice, which apparently, has far more range than evident in The Shins discography. Recreating just about every reverberating vocal effect from the album was wholly unnecessary. As a result, though, Mercer's naked vocals on "Don't Let It Bring You Down" were that much more awe-inspiring by comparison.

The little kinks though, the shorter set length and the lack of audience interaction are all smaller growing pains in the scheme of things, and will dissipate with time (OK, maybe not the audience interaction). Bonus points awarded for the trippy projections though (based off the album's cover art), giving the whole show a sort of Warhol Factory feel (also due to the industrial look of Music Hall of Williamsburg's interiors). With rumblings of a follow-up album already starting, Broken Bells is going to be band worth watching developing on its own merits, live and in the studio, much in the way The Raconteurs have become almost as fascinating as Jack White's main act.

Burton may not come out and say what Broken Bells is to him (for Mercer, it looks like priority number one while on hiatus from The Shins), but there is some tangible evidence out there. At the close of "The Mall & Misery", Burton walked right up behind his co-star, Mercer, pausing for a moment before he placed his hands on Mercer's shoulders.

As if suddenly aware of his actions, he removed his hands and then waved goodnight to the crowd. Whether or not everyone else sees it, there's clearly something more to Broken Bells than just another all star side project. This time, it's definitely personal.

[Photos taken from the Letterman show appearance Tuesday night - if anyone has any photos from Brooklyn, send ‘em over and we'll publish ‘em!]