What do you get when you cross one of indie rock’s biggest heroes with one of the most acclaimed producers of the 2000s? Disco, apparently.

Broken Bells, a super-duo composed of The Shins frontman James Mercer and producer Brian Burton (a.k.a. Danger Mouse), released their sophomore album, “After the Disco,” last week. The album is an improvement over their 2010 self-titled debut in that it sounds more like a cohesive idea than a random grouping of songs, but it’s too gimmicky and insincere to really work.

Listening to the music Mercer and Burton each made before coming together to form Broken Bells in 2009, the two seem like an odd couple.

The Shins, one of the most beloved indie rock bands of all time, gained a huge following after its music was prominently featured in the 2004 film “Garden State.” Natalie Portman is a great spokesperson, obviously.

Burton also had a big year in 2004 when he released “The Grey Album,” a mash-up of Jay-Z’s vocals from “The Black Album” and the music from “The White Album” by the Beatles. He went on to form Gnarls Barkley with CeeLo Green in 2006, and he earned a Grammy for Producer of the Year in 2011 for his work with Broken Bells, Daniele Luppi and The Black Keys.

Broken Bells’ 2010 self-titled debut album lacks cohesion, but it’s a good blend of the two artists’ sounds. Mercer maintains his indie cred by throwing an acoustic guitar and singable melodies into almost every tune, and Burton provides the strong beats and simple-but-fun music that made Gnarls Barkley such a hit — if only for a short while.

But “After the Disco” hops on a bandwagon that should really be set on fire already. Daft Punk brought disco back with their brilliant 2013 album “Random Access Memories,” but they did it with purpose. They did it right. It makes sense.

Broken Bells seems to have done it because they thought it would be funny, like they were sitting around one day and on a whim said, it would be hilarious to make a disco album.

That’s the vibe the music gives off for the most part, but the lyrics try to be so much deeper than that. It’s that disconnect — personal, relatable lyrics sung over random disco music — that makes “After the Disco” confusing.

Lyrically, Mercer fans should be overjoyed. He hasn’t lost his way with words, and he’s even managed to create a lyrical theme that ties the album together with one big idea. He sings about escapism and fantasy (“The Remains of Rock & Roll”), and about trying to outrun reality either because it’s too painful to bear (“Holding On for Life”) or because it’s just not enough fun (“After the Disco”). But he always comes to the realization that he can’t run forever. Reality sets in. The disco ball stops spinning. The party is over.

This idea is illustrated most clearly on the second track, “After the Disco.” The driving bass line, strong back beat and prominent synths evoke disco at its lamest, and Mercer’s sweet falsetto solidifies the charade.

The lyrics are great. “After your faith has let you down, I know you’ll want to run around, and follow the crowd into the night, but after the disco, all of the shine just faded away,” he sings.

But the listener can’t help asking, why disco? This idea could work just as well — better, in fact — if Broken Bells made a modern pop album. Surely Burton would throw in a twist and add his own unique flavor, but copying a long-dead genre does nothing but confuse the listener.

There are high points on the album. Incidentally, they usually occur on the songs that lack a heavy disco vibe, like “Leave it Alone.” The fourth track starts off with a finger-picked acoustic guitar, the first audible one of the record. It sounds like it could be the sad song in an old western, with a church choir-like chorus and bluesy guitar solo.

The fact that “Leave it Alone” is the best song on “After the Disco,” and that it could seamlessly fit on a Shins album, is not a good sign for Broken Bells. Burton is talented, no doubt — but maybe there’s good reason to scratch your head at these two making music together.

 

Published on February 10, 2014 at 10:25 pm

Contact Jessica: jmcabe@syr.edu | @Jessica_Cabe