Review: Broken Bells – Self-Titled

Palmer reviews Broken Bells’ self-titled release.

Artist: Broken Bells
Album: Broken Bells
Year: 2010
Genre: Electronica/Indie Rock

Every once in a while a band comes along that tries its damnedest to change everything about how we perceive music. Broken Bells is one of those bands. Their playful brand of electronic indie rock reminds me of a smooth blend of Gorillaz and Interpol. Their debut album, Broken Bells, is not truly amazing, but it’s got enough appeal to garner interest.

Broken Bells was introduced to me by a friend of mine. He was interested in finding out what I had to say about their debut album. So, eager to please, I shrugged and said, “Sure. Let’s find out what they’re all about.” Not really knowing what I was getting myself into I realized that, as I delved deeper into their atmospheric world, I had no idea how to really classify these guys. Their truly unique sense of rhythm, instrumentation, and their indie take on electronica threw me for a bit of a spin. I wasn’t sure I really liked it at first, but the more I listened the more it grew on me.

I started off by picking out little details of each song that kept me going. Things like their atmospheric bass lines or their clean acoustic guitar riffs that seemingly contradict the spacey, stoner feel of their digitized background sounds. There are parts of the album where Broken Bells seem almost confused, as if they’re struggling to decide whether or not they should try to push their music farther out into space or keep it a bit more grounded. Personally, I think that the push is what they need to get past this ‘good’ stage that they’re in and break through into the epic.

I will say from a vocal standpoint this album is fantastic. The singer, James Mercer (you might know him from his other project, The Shins), has a great falsetto voice that appears periodically throughout the album that reminds me a bit of The Temper Trap’s vocalist Dougy Mandagi. The lyrics are very open and honest, which is refreshing to say the least. Lines like, “‘Cause they know, and so do I, the high road is hard to find” leave quite the impression and they can be found all over the place in the album.

I really enjoyed this album. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great start. If we follow the formula at all then we know the first album will set the fan base, the second album will approach perfection, and the third will really start focusing on f*cking it all up. At least we can guess we’ll have another great album from these guys before it all goes down the tubes.

Verdict:

+ Varied, unique sound
+ Great debut
- It’s obvious they’re still struggling to define their sound
- There’s not a single track that really seems to hit its full potential

Best Tracks: ‘Mongrel Heart’, ‘Sailing To Nowhere’, and ‘The High Road’

76/100

- Palmer Sturman
www.twitter.com/despitefulminat
palmer@musicreview.co.za