Broken Bells' Self-Titled

Track List:
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

Rating : 72

So here we go again – another sad case of idealism versus reality. At some point I suppose I’ll have to deal with the fact that The Shins are Gone for Good, but for now, I’ll play the part of the jilted child. The reality is that mom and dad have called it quits, a clear cut case of irreconcilable differences. Last year James Mercer announced that The Shins’ drummer and keyboardist left the band on good terms for what he called “aesthetic reasons.” In an interview with The Portland Mercury, Jesse Sandoval reported that “I unequivocally got fired.” Whatever the circumstances surrounding the disbanding, the damage is done. Wincing the Night Away made it clear enough that the days of the basement folk jams are over, so really there’s no surprise. And in the end, what better step father could we ask for than Dangermouse, or Brian Burton as he is billed for the Broken Bells.

It’s easy to say this is a new chapter in Mercer’s story, but really, how can we help but stack this new effort against the towering greatness of Chutes Too Narrow and Oh, Inverted World? Again, as Wincing suggests, Mercer seems to be taking a page from Nick Thorburn’s playbook and embracing the dark side. Broken Bells can also be seen as an extension of the two Mercer tracks from Dark Night of the Soul, without the David Lynch vibe. Even after several listens, I’m still conflicted. Part of me is inspired by the greatness of these two stars aligning, while the other (bigger) part is flabbergasted by the tremendous waste of talent. In a recent best albums of the aughts poll, I placed Chutes in the top slot. Few artists can demonstrate the naturally effortless aggregation of music, lyrics and vocals as Mercer and company achieved on the first two Shins’ albums. When Wincing dropped in ’06, my immediate reaction was anger. I felt cheated after waiting three years for a follow up to what was, in essence, pop perfection. I am still unable to reconcile my expectations following Chutes. What was I hoping for? How does one follow perfection? Should they have pulled a Seinfeld and gone out on top, or would the right play have been to keep on the same track and seemingly hopelessly attempt to harness the lightning the possessed for a third strike? Logic dictates the impossibility of such a feat, but maybe The Shins were destined to be The Beatles of indie folk. We’ll never know for sure.

Putting the past aside as best I can, the Broken Bells have put together a fairly solid debut, but the long view is less optimistic. Mercer sticks with the forty-ish minute run time that has served him so well, but that’s about as far as the similarities go. Not to undercut his craft, I’ll assume the responsibility of not seeing the forest for the trees; but it seems like the tracks are less story oriented than The Shins’. What really gets me about Chutes are the captivating narratives that tug ever so plangently at the heartstrings. My biggest complaint about Broken Bells (other than they’re not The Shins, which really isn’t fair) is the near complete sublimation of Mercer’s genius. “When our kite lines first crossed, we tied them into knots. To finally fly apart, we had to cut them off. Since then it’s been a book you read in reverse, so you understand less as the pages turn, or a movie so crass and awkwardly cast that even I could be the star.” That is a snippet of “Pink Bullets” that haunts me to this day. It’s pure poetry. From what I can comprehend of the Broken Bells’ lyrics, it’s mostly a collection of life lessons without the keen narrative structure that bound the earlier volumes of Mercer’s repertoire. The deficit of enunciation derives mainly from Mercer’s lack luster delivery rather than Inverted’s grainy production that poses similar comprehension issues.

All that said, I really don’t dislike the album. As mentioned, it’s simply a case of idealism versus reality. Where this Broken Bells album succeeds is not to be ignored. I am convinced that there is hope for life after The Shins. The debut may have its share of problems, but the problems are almost exclusively due to the two reputations that precede the band. What it lacks is the sense of grandeur I expected, and that I still feel the music really needs. “October” and “The High Road” are the best tracks offered because they demonstrate a middle ground that surpasses Mercer’s and Burton’s collective pasts. The instrumentation is simply gorgeous and all the more impressive for the fact that the duo is entirely responsible for its synthesis, save Daniele Luppi’s string arrangements. “October” feels like the closest link to the old days of the narrative while still expanding the concepts awkwardly attempted on Wincing. In a lot of ways, this album feels like the last album Mercer tried to make with The Shins; Burton helps him achieve the aesthetic he sought, if you will. “Vaporize,” too, opens in the comfortable confines of Mercer’s vocals over an acoustic guitar, but takes it to the next level proving his voice lends equally well to organ and synth backdrops. If anything, less familiar territory, as in “Your Head is On Fire” and “Sailing to Nowhere” is underexplored. This is where it really feels like a larger sense of grandeur would have helped. If we’re breaking new ground, it needs to be more firmly established. As these tracks are, they’re a bit too elusive with no real climax. All I ask if pressed to endure post-Shins Mercer is to believe that he believes, but I’m just not convinced.

This is a link to the Sandoval interview referenced in the first paragraph:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/nothing-is-permanent/Content?oid=1554912