(Columbia/Sony)

Gnarls Barkley this ain’t

In many ways, Broken Bells’ self-titled début couldn’t come at a worse time. A few weeks ago, EMI announced that the legal issues holding up the official release of Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s collaborative album Dark Night Of The Soul had been resolved; days after that announcement, Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous was dead. Broken Bells is, of course, Danger Mouse’s collaboration with The Shins’ James Mercer, who also – coincidentally or not – guests on Dark Night Of The Soul. So Broken Bells has a lot to live up to: to the reputation of last year’s most famous unreleased album, and to those on that album who have passed away since its recording (not only Linkous, but Vic Chesnutt). Dark Night Of The Soul has inadvertently become an album worth living and dying for; in contrast, Broken Bells (the album) can’t help but sound a little tepid. And, paradoxically, gloomy. Dark Night Of The Soul manages to finely balance shade and light through deft songwriting; Broken Bells prefers a grey emotional palette without a range of highs or lows. So there’s lots of ennui, which is okay, but given Mercer’s track record at writing catchy songs with The Shins, this album’s lack of memorable hooks is puzzling at least, if not downright disappointing. Perhaps worst of all, we’re given one rather good song (album closer The Mall & Misery), in which both Mercer and Danger Mouse are playing to their strengths, and it provides a tantalising glimpse at what this album could have been.

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CHAD PARKHILL

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