Broken Bells Indulge In The Kookier Side of Life

Broken Bells isn't your average side project. It is a Los Angeles unit comprised of Brian Burton from Danger Mouse and James Mercer from The Shins who have been on my "One To Watch" list since they uncorked "Phantom Limb" back in 2006. The first single from this twosome's soon to be released "After the Disco" album is called "Holding On For Life". It really does grab you as an artistic statement steeped in clinging to the IV drip of whatever vitality's nearby. Somehow you'd not be stared at were you to play this song in a graveyard. Scooby and pals would lap this thing up. Space rock is one of this band's categorized genres. Plenty of "we are not alone" unsteadiness pervades the material. This is how you wield a bass. Steady as a Timex watch. Good thing there's a steady pulse here because the lyrics only give off vibrations of cold comfort if any comfort is given at all. Loneliness is glorified which to me makes no sense. I realize it's a big world and with so many millions of people milling around it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. But James trumpets it as if there's an honest to goodness crumb of delight lurking somewhere. He's a good host encouraging his female acquaintance to sit a spell. Maybe in a 60 minute span he can get to the bottom of her ills. Since nobody's calling and nobody's home James concludes, "What a lovely day to be lonely. Such a defeated sentiment holds true to the artist's credo that usually infects the world of motion pictures too. In order for a critic to like a piece of art it has to leave its audience unsettled, hopeless, worthless, you get the picture. Joyous nostalgia trips and gifts with ribbons on top aren't part of the package. Is there really ever a lovely day to be lonely or is that the bitch deal you've been handed because either your standards are too high or everyone around you has standards which are too low? Anyway, this day, not the sunny day sweeping the clouds away that Sesame Street introduced many children to, is responsible for the sense that this poor female lead in the passion play of existence is holding on for life. The outer space techno creepiness fills a substantial role. Whether you want to see this as audio confirmation that the poor soul is about to flatline or not is up to you. You've probably had moments during the day when you've been physically present but your head is a million miles away. "Holding On For Life" could easily be the soundtrack playing in your unsuspected wanderings. The drumming inches the eeriness factor up a few degrees. It's holding us hostage, begging us to enrage it enough to carry out one of those "things you can't take back" moments. The pistol's cocked at our heads. Circumstance has brought us to a perilous precipice. As a unit Brian and James did their homework on what it sounds like to be groovy. You wouldn't mistake the song as a dance classic but sweating the night away is a real possibility even if you decide do use the track as a horizontal mambo inducer. I can't speak for what your preferences are. I can only suggest. "Holding On For Life" is a song that encourages listeners to unearth what makes its shaky heart beat. As the prime curiosity in 2013 music's curiosity shop the possibility of endless fascination lingers on for hours. This is music you disappear into and, what's more, you're not likely to ever be the same. Broken Bells is to be saluted for daring to be way out where the buses don't run.