Danger Mouse + James Mercer = Broken Bells – “The High Road” (New Music)

“The High Road” is the debut single by Broken Bells, a collaboration between versatile collaborator (and Gnarls Barley co-founder) Danger Mouse and James Mercer (lead singer of indie rock band The Shins) – out on iTunes and Amazon tomorrow.

Memorably provocative lyrics and melody over Danger Mouse’s subtle, rousing production.  I’m on my fifth listen this morning and absolutely love it – perfect introduction to a mellow Monday morning.  I’ve seen this project and song described as “indie rock” and it probably is – yet in many senses that title doesn’t fully encompass it… in that you can easily dig it even if rock isn’t your thing. Whatever it is, I like.

Listen here…
[audio:http://soulculture.com/TheHighRoad.mp3]

..and get your free download on at brokenbells.com.

To fill in the blanks, Pitchfork have a little more info on this collaborative rock project: “Mercer has teamed up with producer extraordinaire/one half of Gnarls Barkley Danger Mouse to form a new band… To be clear, this is not just a “produced by Danger Mouse” one-off thing. Mercer and the Mouse are apparently in it for the long haul and already have plans extending past their first album. The pair recently collaborated on the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse album Dark Night of the Soul.” [click for full article]

The Broken Bells album comes out on March 9, 2010 on Columbia.