REVIEW: Broken Bells by Broken Bells

2 out of 5

When two genres cross over, you tend to expect something interesting to happen. So when you hear that Danger Mouse is working with The Shins' James Mercer, you think that the result is going to fit that overused indie-rock tag, but at least something eclectic may come out of it. Sadly, that's not the case in terms of Broken Bell's self-titled album. You can't fault Danger Mouse – if anything, the album goes to highlight just how skilled a multi-instrumentalist he is, and some of the ideas on the album have certain eclecticism to them. But halfway through the album, you find yourself realising a lot of this has been charted a few years ago by French duo Air. The neo-classic elements of ‘Mongrel Heart’ are an exception for the most part to this way of thinking. The whole thing is too laconic for some tastes – the duo seem to basically riff around concepts The Shins had and concepts Danger Mouse has used back in the days of Gnarls Barkley. Sure, it was a collaboration that was never going to set the world ablaze, but let's be honest; it shouldn't ever sound like adult orientated rock with delusions of grandeur.

Review by Benjii Jackson