The Monthly Spin: Broken Bells - Broken Bells

The Monthly Spin is a newly recurring feature on Feminine Things wherein I talked about an album I'm loving and the perfumes I think go with it.

This eponoymous album,a first effort from James Mercer (The Shins) and Brian Burton (Danger Mouse), was released in 2010.  It's been getting a little bit of radio play here in Portlandia, and I am loving it.  It manages to combine angsty dude with guitar and pulsing dreamy dance beats.  While the singles ("The High Road," "The Ghost Inside") are worthy of a spin, the great thing about this album is that it flows as an album.

So frequently these days albums are just a collection of singles, each produced and even written by someone different.  They don't even attempt to tell any kind of unified story, to capture an idea or feeling, instead focusing on cramming the highest number of radio playable sound bites onto an 'album' as possible. It's one of the reasons I tend toward indie bands.  So many of them are small enough that I can see them in an intimate venue for less than $20 where they play amazing songs that are about something more than playability, charting, and making money.

Broken Bells tells a story.  Okay, it's an emo story, sure, but still, at least there's a thematic feel to the effort.  And hey, sad bastard music you can dance a little to?  That's solid gold here in Puddletown.

Recommended if you like: The Shins, Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps

While spinning, wear: Ava Luxe Wild Blackberry Musk (available again!); Tauer Perfumes Orange Star;  Jo Malone Sweet Lime and Cedar