Broken Bells Album Preview on KCRW
This has got to one of the best deals of the season, an album preview for the highly anticipated collaboration called Broken Bells before it hits the shelves March 9th. When I heard the single "The High Road" for the first time last fall, the voice of The Shins' James Mercer was instantly recognizable. It's the opening track here and the second one, "Vaporize," is my new favorite. There's something sunnier and slightly funkier than the usual laid back Shins sound. Danger Mouse brings a hip producer's ear to the layers of music in each tune and maybe recording in LA has lightened the mood. It's a match only backstage access can create -- the two met while both were performing at a festival back in 2004. Some songs start out sounding like classic Shins tracks but then veer in a different direction without a road map. Others are completely different all the way through. With a running time less than 40 minutes Broken Bells definitely left me wanting more, especially with the last track's ending chords of sonic bliss. You can listen to it through March 30th at the link below:
This has got to one of the best deals of the season, an album preview for the highly anticipated collaboration called Broken Bells before it hits the shelves March 9th. When I heard the single "The High Road" for the first time last fall, the voice of The Shins' James Mercer was instantly recognizable. It's the opening track here and the second one, "Vaporize," is my new favorite. There's something sunnier and slightly funkier than the usual laid back Shins sound. Danger Mouse brings a hip producer's ear to the layers of music in each tune and maybe recording in LA has lightened the mood. It's a match only backstage access can create -- the two met while both were performing at a festival back in 2004. Some songs start out sounding like classic Shins tracks but then veer in a different direction without a road map. Others are completely different all the way through. With a running time less than 40 minutes Broken Bells definitely left me wanting more, especially with the last track's ending chords of sonic bliss. You can listen to it through March 30th at the link below: