TAG: Dark Night of the Soul
While I’ve already seen Broken Bells twice before their show on Wednesday 10/06 at the legendary Wiltern in LA, their live performances have always had a particular experiential magic to them, something which I have found special enough to draw me to their performances time and time again. Broken Bells, comprised of James Mercer (of The Shins) and Brian Burton (Danger Mouse), released their self-titled debut album back in March and have been playing shows all across the country, including (albeit secretly) at festivals such as SXSW. The quality of their artistry is undeniable, and their small yet profound body of work gives them accessibility not true for bands with much larger and more thorough discographies. Broken Bells’ novelty stems primarily from their imaginative instrumentation and genre-pushing collaborative work in which, in addition to the group …
A couple days ago, KCRW music director Jason Bentley sat down on the air with super-producer Danger Mouse and legendary filmmaker David Lynch to talk about their finally released project, Dark Night of the Soul. DM in particular is surprisingly talkative. Worth it just to watch Danger Mouse call Lynch a “crazy old man.” Less comical but equally compelling is the discussion of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, the recently departed third wheel of this project.
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Creating a complete and engaging live musical experience is a tough feat. Having only about forty minutes of material to draw from greatly complicates the situation. “Would it be wrong?” Not for Broken Bells. For Broken Bells, also known as Brian Burton (typically known by his alias Danger Mouse) and James Mercer (lead singer of The Shins), this was effortless. Broken Bells have built upon their musical efforts on their self-titled Broken Bells at the Troubadour in Los Angeles this past Sunday 3/14 with a lively, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable performance. As their final show on their mini-tour which included London, Paris, and New York (next they’re headed to SXSW), Broken Bells have put on a moving and memorable performance that highlights the creative possibilities of this so-called supergroup formed during the collaborative work by Burton and David Lynch (which …
Early last year, a new album by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, with art by David Lynch, was set to be released under the name Dark Night Of the Soul. Promo discs went out to press, an art opening was held in LA and NPR even streamed the record in its entirety. But then the CD never came out—allegedly caused by a “an ongoing dispute with EMI.”
Almost a year later, Danger Mouse has told endangered BBC online music channel to expect the release sometime in June. DM is of course now focusing his attention on his Broken Bells collaboration with James Mercer. So don’t expect EMI to actually sell too many copies of DNotS. Silly major label rabbits.
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