Life can be tough. In the same week that producer Danger Mouse announces that after a long fight with EMI his project Dark Night Of The Soul will be released, the other initiator Mark Linous commits suicide. The debut of his youngest band Broken Bells is also released at this unfortunate moment. In addition to Danger Mouse, Broken Bells consists of The Shins singer James Mercer and that can safely
… be called an interesting combination. With the indie pop of The Shins, nobody thinks 1, 2, 3 of the special productions that Danger Mouse makes. But although Danger Mouse has worked a lot with rappers like Cee-Lo Green and MF Doom, he is no stranger to the more guitar oriented world. He has previously done productions for Beck, The Black Keys and of course Sparklehorse, Linous's band. Broken Bells does not sound uncomfortable or paradoxical at all. It is a solid album on which both Danger Mouse and Mercer can show their qualities. The intelligent and reassuring pop music gives the listener a chance to put his concerns aside. (JE)more
