One Track Mind

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When Danger Mouse (he of The Grey Album fame) and James Mercer (vocalist and guitarist of perennial favorites and frequent soundtrack guests The Shins) announced they would be collaborating on an album, I’m pretty sure the news caused a collective seizure of ecstasy that rippled like a shockwave through all of hipsterdom. Never before have so many skinny jeans been jizzed in at once.

All joking aside, the partnership between the two men has generated an appropriately large amount of anticipation, and their debut will come in the form of the self-titled Broken Bells LP, slated for a March 9th release through Sony. Major label be damned, the pair have given away the album’s first song, “The High Road,” as a free MP3 download, and it is indeed as high quality as one would have hoped.

As his work with Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz has shown, one of Danger Mouse’s prodigious talents as a producer is turning unusual, quirky arrangements into songs with massive crossover appeal. “The High Road” is filled with unconventional charm: strange electronics perform mating songs in the background, woodwinds slide forgetfully up and down scales, and I’m fairly certain there is an accordion in there somewhere, too. But the whole thing never feels weird, anchored in large part by Mercer’s distinctive but easily consumed vocals. It’s catchy as all get out, too, demanding repeated, successive listens (which become more rewarding by turn). This is an excellent track and a promising foretaste of the full debut to follow.