Broken Bells
(Columbia)
Oh, did I wake you? I didn't mean to rustle you out of your slumber, as it seems as though you must have been listening to the new Broken Bells album. Unless you guzzled down the Shins Kool-Aid along with the rest of the Cult of Pitchfork, you are well aware how boring James Mercer is as a singer and performer. And this hopelessly overblown collaborative project with super producer Danger Mouse, which has been crammed down our throats for what seems like an eternity by so-called industry tastemakers, is nothing more than a perfect example of the case that MOR is still very much alive and well in the 21st century.
Sure, you can set the first Christopher Cross album to some great beats, but at the end of the day, it's still the same snooze-inducing yacht rock it was 30 years ago no matter how much it thumps in your jeep. And such is the case for the totally milquetoast songwriting of Mr. Mercer in the context of his pairing up with Brian Burton, whose otherwise excellent production has in the past consistently enhanced the artistry of the act it accompanies - as prior team-ups with Beck, Gorillaz, The Black Keys, MF Doom and the late, great Mark "Sparklehorse" Linkous have proven.
Some moments are interesting enough, namely the proto-disco mover "The Ghost Inside," which sounds like a leftover studio jam from Demon Days, and "Mongrel Heart," which employs a heady combination of the radio static, mariachi horns and Ecstasy-fueled ‘90s psychedelia. But the majority of this eponymous debut simply can't live up to the incredible amount of hype that preceded it. I can only suggest you refer back to your well-worn copy of Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere to help get the nasty taste of new school easy listening out of your mouth after listening to Broken Bells - even as you anticipate the long-overdue official release of the Danger Mouse-Sparklehorse project Dark Night of the Soul.
Standout Tracks: "The High Road", "The Ghost Inside", "Mongrel Heart" RON HART
