Who knew Broken Bells could sound so good?

Broken Bells eponymous debut album was released in the U.S. and Canada on March 9, to the delight of many. Brian Burton, a.k.a. Danger Mouse, and James Mercer of The Shins are the connoisseurs of this fine project. Each man a powerhouse in his own right, they found out that they were fans of each other’s work after a fated meeting at a Danish music festival in 2004. Thus spawn the inception of Broken Bells.

Mercer and Burton began laying the foundation for the album in secret at Burton’s Los Angeles based studio in March of 2008. When asked they described their new material as “melodic, but experimental.” I believe it was early in January when I heard the song “The High Road” played on KCRW and about lost my little mind. Immediately following the song I looked up Broken Bells and was just tickled to find out who was involved. Pretty much anything involving Danger Mouse is going to be at least good…if not mind-blowing!

Listening to a full album is not a common occurrence anymore, but when played from start to finish the album tells a wonderfully melodic and inspired story. Like fine wine, each taste has new notes and slowly developing undertones that resonate within. Broken Bells presents a rich and robust resonance that makes you want to come back for seconds…thirds even! The influence of The Beatles and folk music in general is apparent in their sound, while there is also a deep affection for synth-pop laced throughout the album.



In an interview on KCRW, Danger Mouse mentioned that he drew inspiration from 80’s music in producing this album. This is particularly evident on songs like “The Ghost Inside” and “Trap Doors” where the bond to the beat is in the clapping. In the song “Mongrel Heart” the composition is extremely evocative and when you least expect it, it breaks into this epic lingering spaghetti western type solo that is simply marvelous.

Mercer’s distinct vocals almost serve as an instrument on their own while Danger Mouse’s wealth of knowledge from instrumental to production automatically put this album near top of the pops. The album is masterfully composed and I would expect nothing less from Burton who has worked with artists ranging from Sage Francis, The Black Keys, Beck, and Bright Eyes. You really must check it out!

Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM…scrumptious industrial brainwaves

Anglo-French actress and singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London on 21 July, 1971 as Charlotte Lucy Gainsburg. She was raised in Paris by her mother British actress and singer Jane Birkin and her father French actor/singer Serge Gainsbourg. In 2006, Gainsbourg released her second album 5:55 to critical acclaim and commercial success, reaching the top spot on the French charts and achieving platinum status in the country. Charlotte Gainsbourg seems to have truly found her individual style in her recently released third studio album IRM.

Gainsbourg claims she handed Beck some sounds of whirring MRIs (the album title is the French term for the machines), and the pop eccentric took care of things from there. Beck is a whiz kid on Production and performs vocals with Gainsbourg on “Heaven Can Wait”. The two of them singing together strikes a palatable dream for fans and followers of Beck, Charlotte, or both. Without much training, Charlotte possesses a whisper of a voice delivered with intent that bathes in the albums extraordinary production. A sonic wonderland created by Beck is the ideal chariot for Gainsbourg’s floating fluttery haunting vocals to resonate from your ears to your belly and right down to your toes.



IRM is largely influenced by her roll in the 2009 horror film “Antichrist” with Willem Dafoe as well as an experience in September 2007 when Gainsbourg was rushed to a Paris hospital where she underwent surgery for a cerebral hemorrhage. She had been experiencing headaches since a minor water skiing accident in the United States several weeks prior.

Big lo-fi booming and gritty distorted guitar are the undertow that sucks you in on the song “Trick Pony”. With a brilliant use of percussion ala stomp in the song “Greenwich Mean Time” enveloping Gainsbourg’s somewhat monotone vocals that sound as if they are being delivered over a loud speaker in your high school cafeteria. It feels as if they channeled Elliot Smith on the song “Heaven Can Wait”. While the song “Voyage” has an evocative tribal feeling with a sub-orchestral string arrangement that peeks in and out between sounds of birds cawing. And if you close your eyes, you can almost imagine yourself on safari.

IRM is a modern pop-folk dream with an alternative influence and sprinkled elements of shaved industrial lo-fi sound that are surely the influence of Beck himself. I tip my hat to Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck on a wonderfully composed album that seems to take folk in 2010 in high form. Well done!