For Whom the Bell Doesn't Toll... Broken Bells

I can't seem to get this album out of my head. It's like those little ear worm things in Star Trek

It's crawled through my ear and into my brain, but this time Ricardo Montablan didn't put it there. The collaboration known as Broken Bells did...

It seems that artists these days can't just make music with just their own band. They all are taking on these side projects (see Gorillaz, Beck). James Mercer of The Shins didn't want to miss out on all the fun, so he decided to team up with Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) who has worked with .. well... Beck and Gorillaz to name a few. Oh yeah, and Gnarls Barkley to boot.

The two met at a Danish music festival in 2004. Danger said to James "Dude I like your work with The Shins" and James said to Danger "Dude I like your work with Gorillaz." Well, that's how it played out in my mind. Anyway, the two started recording on the sly, and announced in 2009 that they had a finished product. 

Their self-titled album  was released on March 9, 2010. Since then I can't seem to go anywhere without hearing this album. It's not exactly the type of record that just grabs you and you think "WOW. This is way cool!" Nah. It just kind of is there, but keeps coming back around. I heard it being played in the bookstore, the mall, Starbucks... everywhere. I'd hear a song and use my Shazam app on my phone to identify it, and... Shazam! Broken Bells kept coming up. That's also a testament to how the songs aren't too repetitive... at least not to me.


So here's a few samples of this most recent band infidelity. Enjoy!!!