When I first heard of the team-up, I thought the combination of James Mercer (frontman of The Shins) and Danger Mouse would produce a guaranteed winner. I was wrong. I am really disappointed in this album. I like The Shins a lot and I like almost everything Danger Mouse has done so naturally I assumed that I’d really like this. Despite the few parts of this album that do live up to my expectations, this album is a yawner. Broken Bells doesn’t bring to life the best parts of either of these guys. In trying to find common ground I think both Mercer and Danger Mouse have left out a big part of themselves. The album starts off on a high note. The lead track “The High Road” is great – one of the best so far this year in fact. Mercer’s voice soars and Danger Mouse drives the song along the bouncy (yet smooth… as the kids say) road. But the second this song ends the albums starts sliding pretty rapidly into a boring mess. The downward spiral takes a brief detour with “Mongrel Heart” but the song just ins’t good enough save the album from Boringtown. Oh well, maybe next time.
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