I got to this thread from The Shins thread since I like one Shins song, "Kissing the Lipless," and you made me curious about Broken Bells.
So far I've just heard "Vaporize," "October," "High Road," and "The Mall and the Misery." I felt the songs were pleasant and perhaps a little bland, with generally quite simple melodies accompanied in a straight-forward manner by harmonizing chords.
Maybe my mood now is just that I want something with more pizazz. Broken Bells sound quite relaxed and folksy, with occasional use of organ and a tamborine. As an example, consider "The Mall and the Misery." This song feels monotonous to me. An added problem is that the lyrics sound like gibberish:
"I turned the stone and found a brand you light
I can from no more words as I cannot dare see no drama
washing me over me."
I do like the "blooping bubble" sound they include in the song, though!
