The sum of soft and sweet US indie kings The Shins frontman James Mercer and Gnarles Barkley man and producer of the moment Danger Mouse, Broken Bells is a mini supergroup effort that meanders at times but has flourishes of greatness.

The greatness comes in the form of Mercer’s songwriting. Each track has brave twists and turns which swing round unexpected corners and consistently raise the bar. These caliber-raising turns can be credited to his admiration of The Beach Boy’s Brian Wilson. However, unlike Wilson, who managed to write near genius music and produce it with heart and soul, Danger Mouse’s touch doesn’t have any of the human aspect the songs deserves.

The problem is that every sound and bleep and bloop is so precise, so digitally honed and perfected that the finished product comes across sounding sterile. Looser playing and less knob-twiddling would have made this record leap from very good to great. That said, the opening two tracks are standout numbers and between them they’ve easily nailed their target – the perfect formula for mainstream popularity. Expect these songs on a radio near you all summer.

-TC

Tags: Broken Bells
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