Jared Rodriguez, Anna Seidner and I saw Mister Heavenly the other night at Daniel Street Café in Milford. Members of Islands, Man Man, and Modest Mouse/The Shins unite to get us hot around the collar.
Signed,
Rachel Hunnicutt
Broken Bells
So I know that themilltheblog has already been giving love to Broken Bells - a new collaboration between James Mercer of The Shins and half of Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse, but I just wanted throw them up one more time. The music builds on the unique sound of The Shins, ranging from the very Billy Jean-esque “The Ghost Inside” to the lyrically cryptic ballads that Mercer has become known for in a song like “Vaporize.” They even seem to pull influence from Beirut, with the folky, eastern european inspired instrumentation in the breakdown of the song “Mongrel Heart”. The record is solid the whole way through, and definitely deserves its spot at the top of the charts.
The full record is now out, and if you are the kind that pays for music, I definitely recommend you download it TODAY!
Danger Mouse and Shins frontman James Mercer have just released the first single from this new side project, Broken Bells. The result is a cool track that is really easy to vibe to and that has been on repeat throughout today. The project allows for both artists to challenge aspects of themselves that would perhaps not fit in their primary ventures, but meld well. Mercer expressed appreciation for this freedom. “When you’re the master of your own domain, it’s easy to fall into patterns. But with this, there was a freedom to try stuff and not worry about what it would mean for this identity I’ve created. And it just sounded cool.”
They will be releasing a 10 song self-titled debut on March 8 so check your local record store for that. For those of you who don’t remember what a cd actually looks like, let alone a physical store that is dedicated to selling tangible music, check it out on itunes.
The band has provided the first single for free. Enjoy.
SHINS FAN?!?
Remember what it was like to show up to a shins concert before Garden State came out? In august 2004 I saw James Mercer headline the Moonshine Festival in Laguna Beach, Ca…. but he wasn’t that famous back then, and I was one of about 150 people that showed up to a 3,000 person stadium. He called us all up to the front of the stage and proceeded to play a full 13 song set.
01 - Intro
02 - Caring is Creepy
03 - When I Goose-Step
04 - Young Pilgrims
05 - Girl Inform Me
06 - Won One Too Many Fights
07 - Harvest (Neil Young cover)
08 - Pink Bullets
09 - Gone for Good
10 - Sphagnum Esplanade
11 - The Past and Pending
12 - New Slang
13 - Saint Simon
I just found live recordings from the night, which, due to the lack of crowd, are really high quality. He plays the whole set acoustic with a harmonica, a very low-key neil young type of vibe. Without all the crazy production we’ve come to love about the shins, you really focus on James Mercer’s impressive lyrical Skills
I uploaded the whole album, which, if you are into acoustic music at allllll, is definitely worth your time. http://drop.io/jamesmercer
