#15 - BROKEN BELLS: "After The Disco"
Number 15 is the sophomore (full length) release from Broken Bells... a.k.a. The Shins' James Mercer and Brian Burton... a cat you may know better as Danger Mouse. From the moment the needle drops, this record hooked me. It hooked me with the melodies that James Mercer is capable of... and the production that Danger Mouse known for.
Danger Mouse is one of those producers that has worked his way up to the status of Trevor Horn, Hugh Padgham, among others. At least if you're me. Which you're not, so you may or may not agree. That's your prerogative. Bobby Brown also had that prerogative, but you see what he did with that. He coked himself and poor Whitney right out of the picture.
But, lest I digress...
It is interesting to know that the idea of Broken Bells stems all the way back to 2004, when James and Brian first met each other and found out that they had a mutual admiration for each other's work. It took another 5 years to finally hook up and it wasn't until 2010 that their self-titled debut hit stores. An e.p. was released in 2013, followed up by "After The Disco".
While I find that this album is good from start to finish, it also loses punch the further into the record I get, making it almost... anti-climactic. That said, it deserves a spot on my Top 20 o' 2014. But you knew that.
"Holding On For Life"
The titular track from "After The Disco"
"The High Road" from the debut album
"The Ghost Inside", also from "Broken Bells"
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