Broken Bells LP: It’s Just… Okay

"It's hard not to want more": Ultra-hyped indie summit between Danger Mouse and the Shins' Danger Mouse yields some promising moments, but nothing that will eclipse the principals' other projects. See ‘em live on Letterman in the video below.

By Hal Bienstock & Fred Mills

A two man "supergroup" of sorts, Broken Bells is a band featuring James Mercer of The Shins and uber-producer Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Black Keys). The result is Broken Bells (issued by Columbia this week), an album that has elements of blue-eyed soul, trip-hop, folk and new wave.

But what's most surprising is what the album doesn't have - the pure pop bliss that both of these guys are known for. There's not a "Crazy" or a "So Says I" in the bunch. Instead there are songs like "The Ghost Inside," which sounds like Hall & Oates meets The Postal Service (in a good way), the cinematic "Sailing to Nowhere," and "Mongrel Heart," which is reminiscent of Joy Division and The Cure.

When word first broke of the collaboration last fall, the collective panting from bloggers was heard from here to Saskatchewan - not without justification, given the duo's respective output. (The pair had originally met at a rock festival in 2004 and, upon comparing notes, declared themselves mutual fans; work began on the album at Danger Mouse's L.A. studio two years ago, in March of 2008.) Of course, pretty much any time either man combs his hair someone posts a news item about it; Mercer's firing of half his band was a headline for months, while the torturous trajectory of the Danger Mouse-helmed Dark Night of the Soul project seemed to ping the pop radar every couple of months. This only served to heighten the anticipation for Broken Bells, and in December, with the release of the (free digital) single "The High Road" (which they performed this week on the Letterman show), anticipation grew even greater.

What you'll get out Broken Bells depends on what you expect. As a debut album from a new band, it's promising. As a collaboration between people who gave us some of the catchiest songs of the aughties, it's hard not to want more.