The alt-pop voice from heaven: Music review of Broken Bells

The end of the Shins felt premature, so when its pivotal member, James Mercer was announced to be working with producer/musician Danger Mouse, loud cheers could be heard. And the fruit of that collaboration, the self-titled release of Broken Bells, has been worth waiting for.

Mercer writes nifty, slightly askew alt-pop songs with Stipe-ish, involving lyrics. His clear, high singing has the expressive quality of the voice of Tim Booth (of James fame). The Broken Bells release is relatively short at ten tracks, but each one is polished, rhythmic, melodic and expressive. Much of it could have come from a Shins release, albeit with a keyboards orientation, but he does branch out into some more funky or dubby songs. In all senses of the word, this is a collaboration: the keyboards of Danger Mouse range from burbling synths to roaring organs to tinkling keys, he contributes all the drums, and he and Mercer share bass duties. Top track picks include ‘The High Road,’ which kicks off with bubbling synth percolation and settles into a lovely repeated coda; the delightful keyboard intro and high vocals of ‘October’; and ‘Sailing to Nowhere’, with its acoustic guitar and keys intro overlaid by falsetto, morphing into Mercer’s lovely chorus backed by organ, finalized by an extended musical finale. But the truth is, this album is very much a unified pleasure.

Buy anything James Mercer puts out! 3½ stars.