popwreckoning

Throughout White Lies’ 2009 debut album To Lose My Life… was a palpable sadness that resonated with those who enjoy that brand of gothic grandeur. These are the same kind of folks that connect with bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and the Smiths. For so long, I have fought against the following argument friends: “Smiths songs make you want to slit your wrists.” Not so, if you can relate with the bleaker side of life and sympathize with such sentiment. But most people don’t identify with such a non-escapist and sometimes academic view of the world and would prefer a more commercial, fun record (In other words, the kind that buy Maroon 5, Rihanna, and Katy Perry albums and think Lady Gaga is, like, the coolest person ever).

The best parts of the London band’s debut album were the most danceable (“Death,” for example), which probably sounds completely counterintuitive and not what most people envision at all of the gothy, post-punk genre. If you ever get the chance to watch the hordes of regulars at the Mousetrap Britpop night here in Washington, you’ll understand. Morrissey famously once sang in the Smiths song “Unlovable,” “I wear black on the outside / ‘cos black is how I feel on the inside,” and in our black clothes, boots, and eyeliner, this is our dance music.

Ritual, White Lies‘s second album, is comprised of similar building blocks used to make To Lose My Life… The high – and potentially the most crowd-pleasing – points of the album are the less dark, more synthy and more inspiring moments. “Is Love,” the album’s opener, starts in the shadows with Harry McVeigh’s usually unemotional intonations, but the track is lifted up into seemingly happier, almost power pop territory thanks to synths. “The Power and the Glory” is White Lies pop trapped in the ’80s.

“Bigger Than Us,” the first single to be released from the album, is brisk in tempo and has a sweeping chorus that fans of White Lies have come to expect from the band that brought us previous singles “Farewell to the Fairground” and “To Lose My Life.” Best track on the album, hands down. First time I heard it on BBC Radio, I could feel the tears welling up: “and I feel like I’m breaking up, but I wanted to stay / headlights on the hillside, don’t take me this way / I don’t want you to hold me, I want you to pray / this is bigger than us.” Epic. (Actually, thinking more about the lyrics, the song might be a nod to the Smiths‘ “This Charming Man” or “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.”)

The buzzing guitars of “Holy Ghost” are sexy and the tune’s verses sound like a homage to the Police’s “Roxanne.” But the chorus is bizarre: “maybe someday I can move like you / maybe someday I can scream like you / I’m not looking for a holy ghost.” I would love to get inside the brain of the band’s bassist and chief lyricist Charles Cave one day. Also unique is “Peace and Quiet,” with a double-tracked chorus almost approaching gospel (“I feel this great pressure coming down on me / and the tide of my bliss, pulling at your sympathy“), new age synths, and an atmospheric yet chill vibe reminiscent of Broken Bells’ debut last year. Not what I would have expected from White Lies at all.

The punishing rhythm of “Turn the Bells” is hypnotic, but there’s no denying it, it’s dark. “Streetlights” is custom made for the terminally depressed, it’s a desperate cry to the world: “hold tight for heartbreak / buckle up for loneliness / right time to get away / where I’m going, I couldn’t care.” Tough stuff. “Strangers” contains the refrain “there’s nothing stranger than to love someone,” the protagonist anxiously trying to love a woman who is emotionally unavailable and not returning his deepest affections. You might not want to listen to this if you’re going through a rough patch in a relationship.

But these are the inevitable, more sinister, more difficult to swallow moments from Ritual. They represent the most comfortable territory for White Lies: writing songs that express the pain and sorrow of everyday situations. That said, this album is really for people who can see past the initial gray sheen of depression the band uses to paint the surface of their songs; under the surface, there are always profound feelings. There are deep emotions in every track, examined and intellectualized, ready to be taken into the hearts of people who can appreciate those emotions.

Ritual by White Lies will be released in America on January 18 on Geffen Records.

Track Listing:
01. Is Love
02. Strangers
03. Bigger Than Us
04. Peace and Quiet
05. Streetlights
06. Holy Ghost
07. Turn the Bells
08. The Power and the Glory
09. Bad Love
10. Come Down

White Lies: website | myspace | @ Black Cat | @ Lollapalooza Day 1 | White Lies to Tour North America, Support Kings of Leon | Sophomore Album from White Lies Due in January 2011 | White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”

Top 5 Albums of the Year:

• Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
• Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
• The Black Keys – Brothers
• The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
• Carney – Mr. Green Vol. 1

Best Show of 2010:

• Stone Temple Pilots: This was by far one of my favorite shows to shoot this year. I grew up with this band all through Jr. High and High School and didn’t think they would be able pull this tour off but they did.

Most Anticipated of 2011:

• Social Distortion
• Bush
• Dr. Dre (Not holding my breath on this, but it’s way overdue)
• Radiohead
• Death Cab For Cutie

Most Overrated of 2010:

• We Are The World 2010: This was just a bad idea to begin with. I understand they were doing this for the devastation that happened in Haiti, but they could have thought of something more original than re-recording a song with a bunch of annoying entertainers and z-lister’s. Don’t even get me started on the overuse of auto tune.
• Kanye West : I am so tired of hearing this guy bitch. KANYE, STFU!
• Carrie Underwood: She’s the main reason I will NEVER shoot a Country act ever again.

Best Musical Memory of 2010:

• I’ve had quite a few this year and coming on with PopWreckoning and shooting American Idol were big for me. But my favorite had to be hanging out with Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and shooting a portrait of him at Sasquatch.

With a lineup like 107.7 The End’s annual Deck the Hall Ball had, one should have expected a multi-faceted night of music, which is exactly what we got. That lineup included Sleigh Bells, The Temper Trap, the return of Cake, Jimmy Eat World, the Black Keys, and Broken Bells, who closed out the night.

Starting the 6-hour marathon of some of the most played acts on The End was buzzband Sleigh Bells, who clearly had the most attitude out of all the bands. Singer Alexis Krauss sported silver spandex leggings and pristine white Keds and guitarist Derek Miller walked out with jeans and a black hoodie, and brought some of the loudest music I’d ever heard. It was so loud I suspected problems with the sound system, but standing further away from the stage was much better than being right up close where I was. The pairing of Miller and Krauss is an odd one, as Krauss has a hard and sexy stage presence. With how much of their live songs include a backing track, you almost wondered if Miller’s guitar was even on. Even though there were sound issues, it was still nice to see The End giving a newer band a spot at the show.

After that, all the music of the night was basically the playlist that The End has been featuring for the last year – with the bands playing as well as the songs playing during intermissions. When Cee Lo Green’s “F*ck You” played over the PA system (completely uncensored!) all the excited fans squished up against the barrier as well as us photographers in the pit sang along to the catchy lament.

The Temper Trap was up next, starting the dance number “Fader” off Conditions. Having seen The Temper Trap twice before in the last seven months, I could almost expect what the set list would be, but the Temper Trap never fails to please me. Since it was a radio show and they only had so much time to play, they ended up playing all the really strong songs off the album, so nothing seemed like filler. The double-header of “Resurrection” and “Drum Song” was the highlight of their set, even overshadowing the crowd favorite “Sweet Disposition” which closed their set. Honestly, that song is getting old, so I enjoyed the lesser-known songs like the epic crescendo of “Science of Fear.”

Following the Temper Trap was the very triumphant return of Cake. I was honestly surprised so many people in the audience was so into them, because last year’s Deck the Hall Ball was full of teenyboppers, but this year’s crowd was much more old-school. I didn’t feel old this year, which was nice. I didn’t listen to Cake a lot before the show on my own time, but I was always pleased to hear them on the radio, and these guys can still put on a great show. With old favorites like “Comfort Eagle,” “Never There” and “Short Skirt Long Jacket,” as well as newest “Sick of You,” off Showroom of Compassion out next month. I guarantee they couldn’t have found a more fun band all in their forties, and lead singer John McCrea put on a great show while having so much fun with this room of mostly kids.

Shortly after Cake, we were told that there was going to be a special guest to come out and play a couple songs. It being Seattle, and myself looking into it way too much when I heard a Pearl Jam song over the loudspeaker, I thought Eddie Vedder. He’s been known to make unexpected appearances at shows all around Seattle, so it could have happened. But I was mistaken; the Presidents of the United States of the America jumped out on stage with joy, met with an equally joyous response from the crowd.

“We came to the door and wanted to get in, and they said it was sold out. They told us that we’d have to sing a song to get in,” lead singer Andrew McKeag told the room.

Instead of playing classic PUSA songs like “Lump” or “Peaches,” they busted out with “Snow Miser” from the stop-motion classic The Year Without A Santa Claus, which was a nice tip of the hat to the holiday season, and a nice way to bring the whole show back to the local level, seeing that none of the bands playing were from Seattle. PUSA’s appearance exemplified The End’s motto “Seattle’s original alternative.”

Jimmy Eat World was next, starting off with “Bleed American,” which was one clue as to what kind of songs they’d be playing for their set. I was so pleasantly surprised to know that a majority of their songs were vintage Jimmy Eat World, because these were songs from my early teen years, when “emo” was all the rage, and still good. It made it apparent that Jimmy Eat World knew what the audience wanted, not just what would sell more copies of their new record. We got “The Middle,” “A Praise Chorus,” “If You Don’t, Don’t,” “Get It Faster,” and one of my favorite ballads ever, “Hear You Me.” I was seriously sitting on the side of the room going through my pictures singing along to all the words. Even sweeter was their cover of Wham’s “Last Christmas,” which I actually have in my iTunes library, so it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to me like most people.

But none of the bands until then matched up to the Black Keys. After seeing their performance at Deck the Hall Ball, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t go to their show in September. Not only was their album “Brothers” highly-critically-acclaimed this year, but also Dan Auerbach’s blues rock swagger mixed with Patrick Carney’s tremendous energy behind the drums make it impossible to take your eyes off them. Thank goodness there are only two of them, or else you’d have a hard time catching all the awesome. A few stand-out tracks were “Howlin’ for You,” “Everlasting Light” and the hugely popular (almost overplayed) “Tighten Up.” I’ll say that this was the one band that stuck out in several ways – the crowd they brought was easily recognizable, and they were on a completely other level than the other bands playing. You don’t hear much blues-rock anymore on mainstream radio other than the White Stripes, and the old-school attitude of the Black Keys was so refreshing.

I assumed that after the Black Keys, Broken Bells would be quite anti-climactic. In fact, when I saw the lineup a month ago, I was confused as to why Broken Bells were the headliners in the first place. They’re very low-energy compared to the rest of the bands playing that night. I’m sorry to say that my assumption was correct, even though their performance was tweaked a bit since their sold-out show at the Showbox back in May to be more suited to the big room. The songs had a bit more oomph than they previously had, but James Mercer and Dangermouse’s Broken Bells still couldn’t stand up to the Black Keys live performance before them.

To be quite honest, I left a bit early as to avoid the traffic getting out of the parking garage, but I left way more satisfied than I thought I would be before I arrived. The End had done well this year bringing the buzz. I got in my car, turned on my iPod and played Cake, Jimmy Eat World, and the Black Keys all the way home.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the second show of Jónsi‘s this week in Washington. The first on Monday sold out quickly, so I figured the people present for Tuesday’s show would be the kind of folks who did not jump on tickets when this Jónsi solo tour was announced – like obsessed Sigur Ros fans. After chatting with some people in line outside the 9:30, it was clear many people who had seen the first show had been so enthralled by the performance, they immediately bought tickets to the second afterward. Hardcore. Once inside, I ran into one of my friends who informed me, “he was amazing last night. This show is going to be terrible, because he used up all his energy last night. He must be exhausted.” However, during the 1 hour-plus show, I detected no signs that Jónsi‘s energy was flagging. Quite the opposite: as the set wore on, he seemed to gain power from the love that was pouring in his direction from the audience.

The opening act were three women collectively known as Mountain Man. (I chuckled to myself when I realized there wasn’t going to be a man at all onstage during their performance.) Interestingly, they’re signed to Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label in the UK, the same label that also has American bands like Beach House and Fleet Foxes on their roster. The band “stars” the ethereal voices of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Amelia Randall Meath and an acoustic guitar used very sparingly. It sure made a refreshing change to see an indie folk band that didn’t have everything but the kitchen sink onstage to play on (which was essentially what you saw when Jónsi and his band had their turn). When you have nothing but your voices to rely on, you’ve got to have the harmonies just right. I wonder how much they practice, but wow, the merging of those three female voices sound amazing. Have a listen to their track “Soft Skin” on their MySpace and you’ll see what I mean.

Jónsi first appeared with acoustic guitar, playing “Stars in Still Water.” I was more focused on what he was wearing – it looked like something a Scottish hobo might wear, a red themed number with bits of plaid fabric sewn together and lots of feathers, with scraps of fabric hanging down it. The rest of his band came in during the second number, and I noticed they all had similar outfits but in more muted colors. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of instruments onstage for Jónsi‘s set, including piano, synths, xylophone (which fascinatingly was played with bows at one point), glockenspiel, guitars, ukulele, and drums. Suitcases that presumably held all this stuff were used themselves as percussion (manual kick drums) and chairs. It all lent a very free spirited air to the proceedings. You can love or hate Jónsi‘s falsetto but there’s no question that his voice is something almost inhuman, as evidenced by the way he can hold the last note of a song for a very, very long time.

Usually you don’t get a cinematic experience at the 9:30 Club and to be honest, the only other shows I’ve ever seen there that had any sort of visual element running the entire length of the gig were Doves in 2009 and Broken Bells earlier this year. Jónsi‘s set-up was interesting such that depending on which song was being played, you could feel like you were running with antelope, flying with butterflies or owls, or drowning in a room rapidly filling up with water. You could call it a total sensory experience.

Throughout the set, guys and girls of all ages were going all verklempt behind me, sighing “oh my god” after each song. While I myself was not as emotionally transported like these people were, I can appreciate Jónsi‘s artistry. Just on the basis of the amazing crown of feathers he wore for the encore, you could definitely say he is one of a kind.

Jónsi Set List
Stars in Still Water
Hengilas
Icicle Sleeves
Kolnidur
Tornado
Sinking Friendships
Saint Naive
Go Do
Boy Lilikoi
Piano Des
Animal Arithmetic
New Piano Song (exactly as shown on the set list!)
Around Us
//
Stick and Stones
Grow Till Tall

Jónsi: website | myspace
Mountain Man: myspace

In this golden age of supergroups (think Broken Bells and Them Crooked Vultures), Mt. Desolation is a supergroup with a difference. The band plays alternative country – not exactly mainstream in the U.S. – and features Keane‘s principal songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley and touring musician Jesse Quin. Also along to assist are Ronnie Vannucci Jr. of the Killers, Country Winston of Mumford and Sons, and members of Noah and the Whale, the Long Winters, and the Staves. Got all that? Good.

Mt. Desolation is set to release its self-titled debut album on October 19 on Cherry Tree Records and is going on tour later this month, playing some dates handily enough with Mumford and Sons. If you like what you hear in the video below for their song, “Departure,” catch them at a venue near you.

Tour Dates
Oct 18 – Palladium / Los Angeles*
Oct 20 – Warfield / San Francisco*
Oct 22 – Crystal Ballroom / Portland*
Oct 23 – Vogue Theatre / Vancouver*
Oct 24 – Moore Theatre / Seattle*
Oct 27 – Mercury Lounge / New York City
Oct 28 – Drake / Toronto
Oct 29 – Pike Room / Detroit
Oct 30 – Schubas / Chicago
*with Mumford and Sons

Photo: Alex Lake

Mt. Desolation: website | myspace

As I’m nearing my 21^st birthday, the ever-present anxiety surrounding who’s playing all ages shows has gone out the door. However, the last all-ages show I will see as a 20-year-old human being (well, except for Sasquatch this weekend) turned out to be Broken Bells and The Morning Benders at the Showbox this week.

This is the first time I’ve seen a band since…February… that I was almost more excited to see the opening band than the actual headliners. Nothing against Broken Bells – their debut album is fantastic, but having seen The Morning Benders two times prior, first with We Are Scientists in 2008 and then with Grizzly Bear last October, I was really looking forward to seeing them for a third time.

The Showbox was packed. Packed tight light a space bag, but instead of blankets and pillows, it was full of people. Starting at about 9, the Berkeley natives stepped out on stage – Chris Chu on lead vocals, Tim Orr on bass, John Chu on guitar and keyboards, and Julian Harmon on drums. The one thing that I always loved about seeing these guys live is how humble they are. Each time they thank the headliners multiple times and thank the crowd for “coming early to see us.” I may have said this before, but I didn’t go early, I went on time! It was also nice to see that Chris’ brother John, who joined the band last year, was sporting the same Telecaster that Chris used two years ago, with the familiar “Britney Spears” label, even if it was quasi-covered in duct tape.

They started with “Stitches,” an achingly beautiful ballad that builds to an ending no less than epic with the lyric “you don’t know me by name” repeated over and over; and it was also my second-favorite song off their phenomenal second album Big Echo. The guys were much more at ease on stage than when I saw them in October, when prior to the show someone broke into their van and stole a bunch of their equipment. At this gig, they were fully equipped with not only their instruments, but so many of the great songs off Big Echo, including the slower “Wet Cement” and “Mason Jar,” along with more upbeat tracks like “Promises,” “All Day All Night” and the short ditty “Cold War (Nice Clean Fight).”

Throughout their performance I glanced around where I was standing, and I was the only person singing along to virtually every song. No, really. Thankfully they closed with “Excuses,” as people had been shouting it various times up until then, so people had to sing along. Chris put down his guitar and grabbed the mic off the stand, and came to find that it was going to cut in and out, so he scrapped his mic and grabbed John’s from atop his keyboard. In the absence of the strings, John played the chords on his keyboard while Chris meandered around the stage from the right side to the left, singing the lovely song directly to the audience. I swear, when I heard “Excuses” for the first time, I thought I’m playing this song at my wedding, whenever it may be. It’s that adorable, but somehow not saccharine. At this point I urged everyone around me to sing along to the “da dum, da dum, la da da dum,” and I finally wasn’t the only one joining in the song.

After a half-hour intermission, Broken Bells, led by James Mercer, stepped out on stage to an ecstatic crowd. I mean, the crowd had to be ecstatic – the show sold out in a matter of days when the tickets went on sale a couple of months ago. Before jumping right into “Vaporize,” James Mercer declared to the audience, “you’re too good to me, Seattle.” To tell you the truth, we’re pretty good to most people.

Broken Bells played through the light and fun songs off their self-titled debut, as well as a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson & Clover” that was pretty ace. I’d have to say that their set wasn’t quite as dynamic as the Morning Benders, but it was far from boring. I like Broken Bells music because you can dance to it, but it’s so slow that it turns into a slow dance and it’s not so fast that you get tired when you’re dancing for almost an hour.

I especially liked when Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse) got up from the drums and sat at the keyboard in the middle of the stage, which was otherwise vacant without Burton playing. I never really knew how multi-talented he is. Burton surely has an impressive resume.

The only thing that spoiled my night was the fact that halfway through Broken Bells’ set this guy who was obviously high on something (something that apparently makes you a total and complete butthead) came and stood right next to me and started thrusting himself around obnoxiously like he was in a mosh pit. Okay, so Broken Bells isn’t mellow, but they aren’t necessarily mosh-able. He even suggested at one point while he was filming the show with his phone that he was going to crowd surf, before the guy standing behind him told him off. Honestly if that guy had crowd-surfed, I would have let him drop. I know personal space technically goes out the window when you’re at a show, but when no one else around you is gnashing against one another, you should take a hint that you need to chill.

Trying to ignore the annoying dude standing next to me, I joined in the crowd’s massive sing-along to “Crimson & Clover,” which would have been a nice surprise if I hadn’t taken a picture of the set list before Broken Bells came onstage. It was still quite nice, though.

After their first “last” song, Mercer and Burton played a charming version of “Insane Lullaby,” from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s 2009 album Dark Night of the Soul. You don’t normally expect two covers in one show, and this was pretty cool. It was just Mercer on acoustic guitar and Burton on keyboards, and it worked really well. They finished out the night with my favorite song from the album, “October,” which instantly made the crowd sway to-and-fro to the easy beat, and the dude standing next to me finally calmed down.

Broken Bells Set List:

1. Vaporize
2. Sailing to Nowhere
3. Trap Doors
4. Citizen
5. High Road
6. Your Head is On Fire
7. The Ghost Inside
8. Crimson & Clover
9. Mongrel Heart
10. The Mall and the Misery

Encore

1. Insane Lullaby
2. Hold On
3. October

The roster for the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival is official. The Eagles, Muse, Phish, The Strokes, M.I.A., Flaming Lips, LCD Soundsystem, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, and Norah Jones top the bill of 130 acts slated to rock Zilker Park October 8-10. Also performing the ninth edition of this year’s Festival: Band of Horses, Monster of Folk, Deadmau5, Sonic Youth, Gogol Bordello, The National, and Robert Earl Keen.

This year’s line-up is diverse as ever, with something for everyone, and plenty of new talent to discover. Broken Bells, The Temper Trap, Girls, and Miike Snow are all making their first ACL Festival appearance, and getting a lot of attention from fans and critics alike. Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Ozomatli, Nortec Collective, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue span a wide array of genres, and reflect the flavor of the Festival and the tastes of what ACL fans have come to expect.

The full line-up listed by day is available at www.aclfestival.com. Single Day Tickets are on-sale today, May 18 at 10 a.m. CDT.

Three-Day Passes for the 9th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival sold-out in 14 hours, a record since the Festival’s inception in 2002. A limited number of Three-Day VIP passes and travel packages are still available.

Austin City Limits Music Festival happens October 8-10 in Zilker Park.

The 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival is generously sponsored by Budweiser, AMD, ZYNC from American Express℠, Austin Ventures, BMI, H-E-B, and Sweet Leaf Tea.

The Eagles
Muse
Phish
The Strokes
M.I.A.
Flaming Lips
LCD Soundsystem
Spoon
Vampire Weekend
Norah Jones
Band of Horses
Monsters of Folk
Deadmau5
Sonic Youth
Gogol Bordello
The National
Robert Earl Keen
The Black Keys
Broken Bells
Slightly Stoopid
Yeasayer
Pat Green
Rebelution
Beach House
The Sword
Matt and Kim
The XX
Portugal. The Man
The Temper Trap
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Girls
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Local Natives
Gaslight Anthem
Lucero
Devandra Barnhart
Blues Traveler
Pete Yorn
The Soft Pack
Gayngs
Amos Lee
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Ozomatli
Richard Thompson
Martin Sexton
Manchester Orchestra
The Almighty Defenders
Miike Snow
Mountain Goats
Bear In Heaven
Mayer Hawthorne
Midlake
Foals
Switchfoot
Cage The Elephant
JJ Grey & Mofro
Kinky
Angus & Julia Stone
The Morning Benders
Hockey
White Rabbits
David Bazan
Asleep at the Wheel
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Nortec Collective
The Very Best
Beats Antique
Henry Clay People
Blind Pilot
GIVERS
Dawes
Band of Heathens
Charlie Mars
Two Door Cinema Club
Lissie
Sarah Harmer
Constellations
T. Bird and the Breaks
Chief
Frank Turner
Those Darlins
Carolyn Wonderland
Kings Go Forth
The Relatives
The Ettes
Qbeta
Mynamisjohnmichael
Basia Bulat
Balmorhea
Dan Black
The Jane Shermans
The Kicks
Ponderosa
Two Tons of Steel
Caitlin Rose
SPEAK
Run With Bulls
Maxim Ludwig
Gospel Stars
Heavenly Voices
Wesley Bray & The Disciples of Joy
Jones Family Singers
Ashley Cleveland & Kenny Greenberg
Buddy & The Straight Way Travelers
Ruby Jane Smith
Verve Pipe
Frances England
Jellydots
Elizabeth Mitchell
Okee Dokee Brothers
Tom Freund
School of Rock
Q Brothers

Broken Bells – comprised of the Shins‘ James Mercer and Danger Mouse (better known to his mother as Brian Burton) have announced their first headlining tour of North America. The jaunt across our continent begins May 18 in sunny San Diego. The duo’s trippy, psychedelic, pop-tinged self-titled debut album was released on March 9 and is available now in regular and deluxe editions. Check out the promo video for “The High Road,” the first single from the album, below.

Tour Dates
May 18 – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay / San Diego
May 19 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles
May 21 – Regency Ballroom / San Francisco
May 24 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland
May 25 – Showbox at the Market / Seattlke
May 26 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver
May 29 – Gothic Theatre / Denver
May 31 – Vic Theater / Chicago
Jun 01 – St. Andrews Hall / Detroit
Jun 02 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Toronto
Jun 04 – Royale Nightclub / Boston
Jun 05 – Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza / New York City
Jun 06 – Electric Factory / Philadelphia
Jun 07 – 9:30 Club / Washington DC
Jun 10 – Center Stage / Atlanta
Jun 11 – 40 Watt Club / Athens, GA

Broken Bells: website | myspace | Broken Bells review

I still maintain that 2009, besides being a crap year financially and personally, should have not focused so much on which albums were better than others, but on what kind of crazy collaborations the greater indie genre saw (think Discovery, Karen O. and The Kids, etc.). The announced project that came out of the meshed minds of Danger Mouse and James Mercer in September, Broken Bells, would hold its own in that list with the their blippy, bloopy, but otherwise sophisticated (thank you Mercer vocals) smooth starter debut single in December: “The High Road.” It promised a serious balance of The Shins and electronic to symphonic elements with the edge of a producer who has given a proper noise to everyone from Gnarls Barkley to Beck to The Black Keys.

The resulting self-titled full-length doesn’t sound as cutting edge and genre-blasting as I would have expected. But classifying it just isn’t easy; saying I’ve heard the sound before would be too much so. The duo recorded all their own instruments, which definitely boosts the cool-factor of the final result. If you imagined The Republic Tigers broadening their scope by suddenly including, wait, by including Danger Mouse, well you might just get the same effect. You could sub Danger Mouse for another searcher of solo spotlight—Julian Casablancas. The album is catchy after a few listens, and it’s nice to use the words “electronic elements” to describe some highlights of the album, and not have to follow up with an eye roll. The lyrics–for all you weather-beaten and serial status updaters out there–are quite an eyebrow raise of life lessons: “Come on and get the minimum/Before you open up your eyes/This army has so many hands to analyze.”

As far as internal movement, there are moments of subtlety and inner-focus, where you hear a lot of keys and minor percussion and sweeping, swooning vocals. Those are plays like “Sailing to Nowhere,” which is great in its entirety as it breaks down to a few hooks of acoustic confession and bass drum spotlight and then flips into dramatic swings and a piano rift straight out of the 20s. “Trap Door” is also mellow, keeping in tune those low-key “electronic elements” with a hand clap-style back beats and even an inclusion of “mmmm” that I definitely dig, and you’ll appreciate. To switch gears to something a bit more upbeat and add some attitude, immediately set your dial to “The Mall and Misery” and feel a bit closer to a DJ state of sound as you bounce your head to a mini percussion lab. The lyrics here play out a tad more spiteful, “Your tiny vengeful life might pass through my mind, but I blink and it’s over.” Perfectly matches the bad-ass sound that the Shins never got to break out.

The remainder motion of this debut gift of an otherwise stellar partnership (because who knows how long it will last, so let’s not get too involved in the fling), flirts with southern acoustic (“October”), Mars Volta-reminiscent overdramatic echoes (“Vaporize”), a Bee Gees-style sound of soprano heights and hand-claps (“The Ghost Inside”), and lyrics that are more observatory than “God, I’m so heartbroken, lonely, introspective and abused.”

This album can’t be better likened to anything less obvious than a sigh. A freaking sigh. You don’t really know you needed it until it runs through your entire soul, removing all frustration, confusion and clutter by giving you the ‘You Time’ that’s deserved. Add to that some famous guys and a fling with electronic tics and you have something that should feel even better when you know what to expect.

Track Listing:

1. The High Road
2. Vaporize
3. Your Head Is On Fire
4. The Ghost Inside
5. Sailing to Nowhere
6. Trap Doors
7. Citizen
8. October
9. Mongrel Heart
10. The Mall and Misery