Broken Bells
 

New project by Danger Mouse & James Mercer of the Shins.

Single:

I just posted in the Shins thread (in response to Broken Bells posts there) before seeing this thread.

According to x Cheez iT, you can download the track free on their site: BROKEN BELLS.

I'm excited to hear this album, out March 9, 2010.

I am not so sure if you can get the free download from there anymore, but what I did was put my email in and got the download of The High Road in my email. But if you guys can't get it, like I said, I got the album if you want to give the whole thing a listen. Just PM me if you're interested.

Ya the album has been leaked for quite awhile already. Sorta unfortunate. I was toying with the idea of maybe doing a review on it in my journal, but I think I'd feel like an ass doing that two full months before it's release. ><

I'm far from an expert on indie stuff like this. I gotta say though, High Road is incredibly solid and an amazing choice for a single, but all the songs are really cool. It's only like ten bucks on amazon I think if you pre-order it, which isn't bad at all. :)

Yeah, one thing I hate about leaks (which I never participate in) is that so much discussion happens prior to an album's release that when it finally does come out, most of the discussion has already happened. Even if I choose to download an album before buying, I always wait for the official release date (or after) to do so. I grew up anticipating album release dates, I cherish these moments. :D

Even though I've already admitted to checking this leak out, I agree with most of what you say. I know not much about this brand of music at all, but I was pretty intrigued when I heard it so I looked it up.
I am waiting patiently for a few releases myself though, from artists I'm already more familiar with.

I'm definitely digging the new stuff from danger mouse and james mercer, but wished i heard of this sooner. "high road" doesn't seem to overload for my ears, but more importantly like the simple riffs and ear candy i hear. :)

I see where you are coming from. For albums that I am really excited for, for example the new Vampire Weekend album or the new Magnetic Fields album, I will wait until it officially comes out to listen to it. You are older than me so I see what you mean when you say you grew up anticipating album releases. Today it is so easy to get any new album a couple weeks prior to its actual release date.

My favorite tracks are The High Road, The Ghost Inside, and Mongrel Heart. But the whole album is listenable. Great car music :)

Yeah seriously, The Ghost Inside might be my favorite behind The High Road - which I don't think I will ever tire of.

can someone PLEASE pm me how to get the full album?? only heard the single so far and am in love.

edit nvm i got it. the entire thing is amazing.

Trap Doors current frontrunner.

i really like this project

LOL. The High Road is iTunes free single right now. Woooooow.

Yeah I just noticed it's the free single. I think its not bad at all. Always been a Shins fan and some of Gnarles Barkley's stuff is pretty good.

well thats a kick in the mouth since I paid 1.29 for it.

i love Broken Bells, but i just wish i could hear something off the album besides "High Road" and "Vaporize". anyone have any others?

Thanks for link, been meaning to check this out. Interesting sound, I initially took to it but then got bored as it progressed. It seems like quite a natural progression for Mercer following (the excellent) 'Sea Legs' but just isn't quite there for me.

I am sort of confused here. Did they omit Float and The Waiting Game from the album version? On Wikipedia, I'm seeing the track listing as followed;

1. The High Road
2. Vaporize
3. Your Head Is On Fire
4. The Ghosts Inside
5. Sailing To Nowhere
6. Trap Doors
7. Citizen
8. October
9. Mongrel Heart
10. The Mall and Misery

I don't think I've heard October and Mongrel Heart. Can someone help?

Obtained the album, not bad it must be said.

"October" = "Float"
"Mongrel Heart" = "The Waiting Game"

They renamed those 2 songs

Ah. Thanks.

I love this album. Amazing isn't strong enough.

It dosn't stay consistently as strong as the opening two tracks, although that said there are a few belters on here, and I'd like to see a second album from this pair at some point.
Favourite track on it?I'd go for Vaporize.

Got the new free single 'Vaporize' this morning. Kind of makes me wish I hadn't pre-ordered the album, it's quite mediocre.

Yeah I like it a lot, but I kind of am in the same boat as you. Except I bought the super deluxe $40 edition. I might just no open it and see what I can get for it on ebay or something.

I mean the album is good, but I really did expect more.

So, I'm listening to the song previews on iTunes and I get to the song 'Citizen' and it sounds nothing like the version of 'Citizen' I have. Someone on this website said a song titled 'Float' had been renamed to 'Citizen' but that's totally wrong. Any one nice enough to upload the real 'Citizen' and send it to me?

I guess I have a song omitted from the album. If someone hasn't heard this 'Float' song, I could upload it for them.

I must say looking forward to checking this one out if anyone can assist. I really need to get caught up on all my music, I completely forgot this album was even on it's way and despite what people are saying I was looking forward to it for a long time. Is it anything like The Shins?

PM sent dude.

You definitely get James Mercer's voice in there, though he does a lot of falsetto (especially in The Ghost Inside, my favorite track). It's a lot more electronic than the Shins though.

^ The above is true, and I also really like 'The Ghost Inside'.

I think fans of The Shins are more likely to enjoy this than fans of Danger Mouse. A couple songs seem like they'd be right at home on a 4th Shins album, others are definitely more electronic with a different vocal style. Overall you still get a 60s pop vibe on many of the songs, and I enjoy it.

My favorite part of that song is when he comes in with:

They call it chivalry
Never pull a punch for free

I can vouch for this statement. I am an avid fan of the The Shins and feel that some of the tracks have more of a 'The Shins' feel to them too. I'm not real big on Danger Mouse. Having said that, I sincerely enjoyed Danger Mouse's contribution to the project although I am very glad James Mercer style overcame his.

I just hope James Mercer & Co. put out another album soon. It's been way too long! Three years!

I hear he is, and soon. I forget who I heard this from, but I did.

A friend of mine said Mercer wasn't going back to The Shins until he was completely done with Broken Bells. I hope you are right though. The wait is too much!

By the way, thanks again for that private message.

Yeah no kidding! It really has been too long. I know for a fact that Mercer and Burton said that the Broken Bells project isn't going to just be a one time collaboration but already have plans for a second album. I don't know if that will mean that The Shins will be on hold for a while or not but I guess we'll see.

Also, check out this video of them playing The Ghost Inside live on Jimmy Fallon's show.

I mean, the Broken Bells are cool and all but I love The Shins so much more. I just hope he doesn't abandon them completely. At least put together a tour sometime soon.

I have that video recorded on my AT&T u-verse! I actually was able to catch the performance as it aired. Oh! If I am lucky, I will get to see Broken Bells this Friday at SXSW! Wish me luck.

your friend got a little mixed up its quite the other way around, mercer plans more for broken bells and less (well pretty much none) for the shins.

Pretty much none? Not what I hear. True that Broken Bells isn't intended to be a one-off, but new members have apparently been named for The Shins so it's not like they have nothing planned.

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! :)

This is an album that grows on you I find. In some ways I enjoy this album more than some of the stuff The Shins have come out with. It's relaxing, and still has some anxiety underneath it to prevent it from becoming totally forgettable. I was really pleased with it.

I actually quite like it I mean nothing compared to the Shins but still great.

really? I think the Shins pray to God they can make an album like this.