Collaborations all too often fall short of their promise. Mick Jagger & David Bowie never really got us “Dancing In The Streets” and Elton John & Eminem, well that was one where people were begging “Do Let The Sun Go Down On Thee”.
Broken Bells is a collaboration between revered producer Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for stellar indie band, The Shins (worth checking out in their own right).
Danger Mouse first came to prominence in 2004 with his now legendary The Grey Album which mashed-up vocals from Jay-Z’s The Black Album with beat samples from The Beatle’s White Album.
He quickly became one of the most sought-after producers and in 2006 he partnered with Cee-Lo Green as dynamic duo Gnarls Barkley. Their inaugural album St. Elsewhere spawned the mega-hit “Crazy” and was followed by The Odd Couple album in 2008.
Stand-out tracks include “The High Road”, “Vaporize” (with some great background organ) and “The Mall And Misery”.
A worthy listen that will certainly garner a few Grammy nods.