Broken Bells

Hip-hop producer and Gnarls Barkley member Danger Mouse may be known for dabbling with everyone from Gorillaz's Damon Albarn to the late Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. But his partner in Broken Bells, James Mercer of the Shins, isn't as notoriously adventurous. Danger Mouse outs Mercer's latent experimentalism in Broken Bells'...

By Jason Heller

May 27, 2010

What happens on the ground matters — Your support makes it possible.

We’re aiming to raise $17,000 by August 10, so we can deepen our reporting on the critical stories unfolding right now: grassroots protests, immigration, politics and more.

Contribute Now

Progress to goal

$17,000

$3,700

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "23668565",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "23853568",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "17242653",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "24956856",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25 
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17676724",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

Hip-hop producer and Gnarls Barkley member Danger Mouse may be known for dabbling with everyone from Gorillaz's Damon Albarn to the late Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. But his partner in Broken Bells, James Mercer of the Shins, isn't as notoriously adventurous. Danger Mouse outs Mercer's latent experimentalism in Broken Bells' self-titled debut, a disc that saw Mercer stretch his helium-fueled, Beach Boys-esque vocals into everything from icy falsetto to funk. It's a brooding, slick and, at times, even sexy disc — again, not what the Shins are necessarily known for — but it seems that Mercer is using Broken Bells as beat-heavy rebound therapy since the last lineup of the Shins disintegrated in 2008. Shins shows were always an opportunity to kind of bob your head and bounce in place; with Broken Bells, though, Mercer and Danger Mouse are fully expecting you to dance.

Jason Heller is a staff writer at Westword. He's the author of the book Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (Melville House/Penguin Random House), and has contributed to the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and NPR.org. His work has won a Hugo Award and a Colorado Press Association Award.

A message from Music Editor Emily Ferguson: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Denver’s music, events and entertainment scenes.

Support Today