As reported, The Shins return on March 20th with their fourth LP, Port of Morrow, via Columbia Records and frontman James Mercer’s own Aural Apothecary imprint. We’ve already heard the album’s lead single, “Simple Song”, along with its b-side, “September”. Now, BPM points to a recent solo performance by Mercer for San Diego radio station 91X, which included the premiere of the album track “It’s Only Life”. The entire four-song set, which also featured “Simple Song”, “Young Pilgrims”, and “New Slang”, is streaming below; scroll to the 3:49ish mark to hear “It’s Only Life”.

In more Shins news, the band recently confirmed the openers for their upcoming U.S. tour: The Antlers, The Head and The Heart, and Blind Pilot all win. Check out the updated tour docket below.

The Shins 2012 Tour Dates:
03/13-18 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/22 – London, UK @ HMV Forum
03/23 – London, UK @ HMV Forum
03/25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
03/26 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan
04/28 – Berlin, DE @ Huxley’s
03/30 – Stockholm, SE @ Berns Salonger
04/13 – Las Vegas, NV @ Cosmopolitan
04/14 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/17 – Honolulu, HI @ Blaisdell Concert Hall
04/18 – Maui, HI @ Castle Theatre
04/21 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/22 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
04/23 – Davis, CA @ Robert Mondavi Center
04/25 – Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
05/25 – Bend, OR @ Les Schawb Ampitheatre #^
05/26 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
05/28 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden Ampitheater #^
05/29 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Ampitheatre #^
05/31 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrahs Council Bluffs *^
06/04 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
06/05 – Columbus, OH @ LC Indoor Pavilion *
06/06 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
06/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Masonic Auditorium *
06/09 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Ampitheatre *

# = w/ The Head and The Heart
^ = w/ Blind Pilot
* = w/ The Antlers

The Shins have scheduled more U.S. tour dates in support of their upcoming fourth album, Port of Morrow. Following UK and European tour dates in March, as well as dates along the West coast and in Hawaii around Coachella, James Mercer and co. will launch this new leg in Bend, OR on May 25th. Check out the updated tour schedule below.

Update: The Antlers will serve as support for the shows running from May 31st to June 9th.

Along with the tour dates, The Shins have also revealed ”September”, the b-side to Port of Morrow‘s lead single, “Simple Song”. The track is accompanied by custom made visuals inspired by and drawing upon Jacob Escobedo’s artwork for Port Of Morrow. Find it below, as well (via Record Store Day).

The “Simple Song” 7″ arrives February 14th, with Port of Morrow following on March 20th via Columbia and Mercer’s own Aural Apothecary imprint.

The Shins 2012 Tour Dates:
03/13-18 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/22 – London, UK @ HMV Forum
03/23 – London, UK @ HMV Forum
03/25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
03/26 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan
04/28 – Berlin, DE @ Huxley’s
03/30 – Stockholm, SE @ Berns Salonger
04/13 – Las Vegas, NV @ Cosmopolitan
04/14 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/17 – Honolulu, HI @ Blaisdell Concert Hall
04/18 – Maui, HI @ Castle Theatre
04/21 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/22 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
04/23 – Davis, CA @ Robert Mondavi Center
04/25 – Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
05/25 – Bend, OR @ Les Schawb Ampitheatre
05/26-27 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
05/28 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden Ampitheater
05/29 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Ampitheatre
05/31 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrahs Council Bluffs *
06/04 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
06/05 – Columbus, OH @ LC Indoor Pavilion *
06/06 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
06/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Masonic Auditorium *
06/09 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Ampitheatre *

* = w/ The Antlers

As far as charity records go, there may be none more sonically giving than Live From Nowhere Near You: Vol. 2. Organized to benefit Outside In, a Portland, OR-based non-profit that offers aid and counseling to homeless youth, the compilation features rare and unreleased tracks from Elliott Smith, Eddie Vedder, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, The Strokes, Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, and a slew of other artists (check out the gargantuan tracklist below). Now, before everyone lays down their $15 for the three-disc collection, which you can do so here, the entire effort is available for streaming at Under The Radar. Giving back never sounded so amazing.

Live From Nowhere Near You: Vol. 2 Tracklist:
Disc 1
01. Kevin Moyer – An Easy Slide (Rendezvous You Too)
02. Bright Eyes and Britt Daniel of Spoon – Southern State
03. The Helio Sequence – Heart Disease
04. Nathan Jr – The Best Noise
05. The Upsidedown – Silver Wind
06. Shawn Smith of Satchel and Brad – You Are Majestic
07. Kevin Moyer – Ill Street Blues
08. Carlos Guitarlos & Mike Watt – Ain’t That Lovin’ You
09. Paul Immanuel Owens – Hey You Dreamer
10. Dan Reed – Ritual (solo acoustic)
11. Tango Alpha Tango – This City
12. Skeeter – Winging It
13. James Mercer of the Shins – Caring Is Creepy (solo acoustic)
14. Brent DeBoer of The Dandy Warhols – Is That All
15. Tim Jenson of Pink Martini – A Saxophone In New York
16. Carlos Vamos and Lindsay Buckland – O-No-You-Den / Bar Tremolinos
17. Pete Miser – Where Do We Go From Here
18. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, The Strokes, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures – Mercy Mercy Me*
19. Joe Purdy – Troubadour
20. Joe Whaley – Save Me From Destruction (acoustic demo)
21. Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney, Kevin and Anita Robinson of Viva Voce, Chris Funk of The Decemberists as Blue Giant – Gone For Good

Disc 2
01. David Brown and Adrian McEldery – Loose Change
02. The Ettes – Spend My Money
03. The Upsidedown – Light (Pete International Airport remix)
04. Daniel Johnston – Grievances
05. Dand Lee Strickland and Kevin Moyer – Holding Me Down
06. Tyler Coyle – Scaffolding
07. Nicholas Crosa and DJ Sirround – One Violin, One DJ
08. Suckapunch – Moves
09. Mic Crenshaw of Hungry Mob with Stic.man of Dead Prez – Running Out Of Time
10. Lindsay Buckland and Carlos Vamos – Whirling Devas (kevin come together edit)
11. Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini – The Overgrown Meadow
12. Danny Seim of Menomena as Lackthereof – The Columbia
13. Carlos Vamos and Lindsay Buckland – Vigilante (street edit)
14. Kevin Moyer – Let’s Make A Deal
15. Dandy Warhols and Portland Elvis – Gonna Be Your Santa
16. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – River Styx (demo)
17. Station Zero with Kevin Moyer – Prone
18. Logan Lynn – Movies
19. Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini – Nana (Manuel de Falla)
20. Third Eye Blind with Arion Salazaar – There’s No Hurry To Eternity
21. Stone Gossard and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Pete Droge, Chris Friel, Cole Peterson – Shame On You
22. The Presidents of the United States of America – Love Everybody

Disc 3
01. Carlos Guitarlos & John Doe of X – Two Tavern Town
02. Tobin Herrera – Tonic Interlude (Pre-Funk)
03. The Robots – Tonic
04. Jordan White – Frank and Judy
05. Neil Gust, Elliott Smith, Jim Talstra, and John Moen of The Decemberists as No. 2 – Who’s Behind The Door?
06. Elliott Smith – The Real Estate
07. Modest Mouse – Dead End Job At The Dead Letter Office
08. Kevin Moyer and Wally Hendrickson – Happiness, That’s Why I’m Bleeding
09. Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini – Up and Up
10. Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini – A Piano In New York
11. Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree – Abandoner (alternate mix)
12. Greg Snell – End Wash
13. Kevin Moyer – Gutter Swirls (Drained)
14. Pete Miser of the Five Fingers of Funk – Call On Me
15. Dave Allen of Gang of Four, Danny Seim of Menomena, John Askew, and Adam Gnade as Faux Hoax – Your Friends Will Carry You Home (Pocket Remix)
16. David Maverick – Reverse
17. Ryan Adams  – Shine Through The Dark
18. Joe Whaley – Save Me From Destruction (alternate studio version)
19. Matt Brown and Kevin Moyer – One Fine Day (Fall) (acoustic version)
20. The Black Ryder with Peter Hayes of BRMC – Burn and Fade
21. Wilco – Someday Some Morning Sometime
22. Joe Whaley – I’ll Always Be There For You (acoustic demo)

According to the label’s website, Moyer “went into his attic studio alone with an idea and emerged with an emotionally vibrant compilation full of life and found sounds. By collaborating street musicians with friends and music professionals, he tells a story of life on the streets and the roads leading to and from there.”

And what a story it should be, especially with Eddie Vedder, Josh Homme, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Modest Mouse, The Strokes, The Shins’ James Mercer, Bright Eyes, The Decemberists’ Chris Funk and John Moen, and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker being among the musical heavy weights who lent their talents to the compilation. In all, Live From Nowhere Near You Vol II features over 200 minutes of mostly exclusive music spanning three discs.

Right now, you can head to Antiquet to hear a taste of the record in the form of a take on the Marvin Gaye classic “Mercy Mercy Me”, featuring Vedder, Homme, and The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and Fabrizio Moretti. After that, head to Greyday Record’s website to peep the full list of contributing artists. You can also pre-order the compilation for just $15.

Exactly one year after The Shins’ James Mercer and super producer Danger Mouse unveiled the debut full length from their Broken Bells collaboration, the duo returns for a second go-around with the release of a four-track EP. Available March 29th (via Columbia Records), Meyrin Fields will feature two previously unreleased tracks — “Windows” and “Heartless Empire” — as well as “An Easy Life” and the title track, both of which are currently available in digital formats.

The EP will be issued in vinyl, CD, softpack, and digital formats and pre-orders are now ongoing via the band’s website.

They’ve got to earn those Grammy votes somehow. Unfortunately, it wasn’t with our 38th favorite song of 2010.

From Bob Dylan rapping with Kurtis Blow, to Ozzy Osbourn and Miss Piggy covering Steppenwolf, and last year’s WTF winner Grizzly Bear and Michael McDonald, seemingly incongruous musicians have always shacked up with one another for some reason or another. Sometimes it’s been for a quick cash grab, or a peace offering, or in memorium, and often it can be cringe-worthy. With the bad ones, either you can smell the falsehood, or you just left wondering “why?” or worse, “who cares?”

But something seems to be in the air in 2010, and diametrical opposites are joining forces to create works that are interesting, challenging, engaging, original, and overall successes. It’s like wrapping chocolate in bacon: you wouldn’t think they’d go together, but — tried and tested — they do. Sure, there have been some clunkers this year (imagine drinking orange juice after you brush your teeth), but here we take a look at some of the chocolate bacon delights that have come out in 2010.

Jeff Tweedy + Mavis Staples

Two weeks ago on 30 Rock, Queen Latifa’s character quipped that NBC was “more white than a Wilco concert.” I watch a lot of NBC and have been to three Wilco concerts and you can’t really argue with her. The Godmother of Soul and Stax Records legend Mavis Staples has a musical disposition that might be classified as “way more black” than Wilco, But both embody slices of good ol’ American pie, and Jeff Tweedy‘s production on Staples’ latest You Are Not Alone is a great example of two artists who share a similar vision from different backgrounds.

Wilco is roots rock, but Staples brings offers us some different roots that we indie kids may too often ignore. CoS’s Evan Minsker accurately summed up the album by saying “It’s warm. It’s hopeful. It’s American.” Finally, a good kind of perfect harmony.

Broken Bells

I wonder what Zach Braff and Natalie Portman’s characters from Garden State are doing right now. My guess is riding around in that broke-ass motorcycle and listening to Broken Bells. In fact, if you could dilute that soundtrack down to its essence, it would be an electronic Shins, which is exactly what James Mercer and Danger Mouse produced with their collaboration. Danger Mouse (born Brian Burton) mostly works within the hip hop genre, producing most notably the underground hit The Grey Album, Demon Days, or as a member of Gnarls Barkley. But his work with The Shins’ front man James Mercer represents a shift in his focus and together they produced an absolutely serviceable album with just the right amount of groove mixed in with Mercer’s melancholic indie sound.

I don’t believe it was the revelatory album that they (we (I?)) were hoping for, but it’s a nice bon mot that sees two heavyweights from indie and hip hop come together and simply work well. Favoring ease over complexity, Broken Bells feels like an album of solid remixes, though hopefully the collaboration inspires more hip hop producers to work with indie darlings. DJ Shadow/Ezra Koenig anyone?

Kanye West + Justin Vernon

So Kanye West is no stranger to odd collaborations. From Jamie Foxx to Justin Beiber to samples from the most cobwebbed corners of music, the man works like a genius movie director by culling the most out of the tools he has.

But when news came that Yeezy flew Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon to Hawaii to lay down some vocals, that about sealed the deal as the oddest cross-pollinating collaboration for Ye. The Wisconsin-bred folk singer laid down some distorted vocals that bookended the Kanye/Jay-Z/Niki Minaj banger “Monster” and he will also appear on Ye’s forthcoming My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in some form or another. Now if Vernon can get Kanye to produce the next Bon Iver album, that’s when things are really going to fly off the handle.

“Monster” (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, & Bon Iver)

Neil Young + Daniel Lanois

As we get older, we have to see the doctor more often. Gums recede, all that benzedrine abuse finally catches up with you, and turns out those freckles aren’t just “kisses from God.” The one doctor aging folk artists seem to turn to is Daniel Lanois – Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Emmy, Lou Harris, and now Neil Young stepped into Lanois’ office. Where once there were 8 tracks, now there are 128 and super digitalized.

It’s not like this is Young’s first step into electric land, but Lanois’ aura of reverb and gloss don’t seem congruent to Young’s barren blues. But one listen to Le Noise and you hear a match in these two. It’s like Crazy Horse meets U2 — there’s distortion and noise, there’s Young’s stark voice with reverb, and it works so well. Some may say that Lanois is just smoke and mirrors hiding Young’s age, but one listen and you’ll see that Young’s songwriting is still spot on. “Hitchhiker” is one hell of a song.

Gorillaz’s Plastic Beach

Collaborations can create some rough stuff, we know, but sometimes it’s the single key to success. If your song is labeled as a crossover hit, then you can just ride that song all the way to Top 40 Radio/The Grammys/college dorms/casual conversations with your mother. Remember when you first heard “Clint Eastwood” almost 10 years ago? That song had crossover written all over it. Deltron, Blur, those four low-Hz bass hits, and something about some cartoons.

Now, Gorillaz have transmogrified from cartoons to something quite real in Plastic Beach, one of 2010′s most versatile and promising albums. At the group’s creative core is still Damon Albarn, but a buck-shot of guests appear on the record, each one expanding on already diverse universe the album creates. From more obvious collaborations like De La Soul and Gruff Rhys to, well, Lou Reed, Mark E. Smith, Snoop Dogg, Paul Simonon and Mick Jones, Bobby Womack, etc… You’d think it was some benefit for some impoverished country, but no, it’s just consortium of legends contributing the The World of Plastic Beach. And when the majority of them show up and play it live? It’s unbelievable.

Runners Up:

Ben Folds + Nick Hornby

Ben Folds has got his fans, and he ain’t losing them. I’m not sure if he’s gaining new ones at this point, but we all have a little place in our hearts for him somewhere, I’m sure. His collaboration with author/screenwriter Nick Hornby on his Lonely Avenue is confusing, since at this point in Folds’ career, I am more interested in watching him try to grow as a songwriter. But his nerdiness and lightheartedness may never leave him, and that’s wonderful, so why not get the guy that wrote High Fedilety to write the lyrics for your album. For a Ben Folds jam, it feels off-kilter, but there are some nice moments. Folds’ knack for a quick and catchy melody married with Honrby’s wry humor is just innocuous enough to listen to once or twice.

Thom Yorke + Flying Lotus

When you think about it, this isn’t strange one bit. But then when you think about it a little more, you wonder: why Thom Yorke? Who called who? Getting Yorke on your album is like getting Kanye: guarnteed hype and buzz. Of course, when you listen to the Flying Lotus track “…And The World Laughs With You”, Yorke’s processed voice loops around à la “Kid A” and before you know it, the song is over. Cool, I guess, but for Cosmogramma and its density, that one floats right on the surface. I mean, Ravi Coltrane is on the album, wouldn’t you rather listen to him? No? Ok, I understand.

Bethany Cosentino + Weezer

Details are scarce, but Paste tells a tale of twitter flirting turned collaboration between Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino and Weezer linchpin Rivers Cuomo. The song is “kind of a duet” — apparently “duet” now a subjective term — and Cosentino offered this quote about the team-up: “When we were writing lyrics, he didn’t look at me like, ’That’s really cheesy,’ like some people might. He was like, ‘Oh that’s cool.’ I was like, ‘Finally, somebody gets it.’ It took Rivers Cuomo to make me feel confident that someone else understands.” No details on when we’ll hear this, but my bets that it’s going to be worthwhile. Trust me, it beats Weezer’s collaboration with Hurley.

The track initially appeared back in April and was stuck with the title “Float” by fans. No longer shrouded in mystery, the newly-titled song will be released today as a digital 45 on iTunes as the b-side to “The Ghost Inside”. A lot catchier than some of the offerings from their self-titled debut, “Meyrin Fields” sits on the border between frantic pop-rock and haunting electro burner. It’s a huge roundhouse kick of life and head-nod-ability from a band that a lot of people thought were kinda bland.  Well, shove this in your pipe and smoke it.

You can currently stream the track on the band’s MySpace. While 2011 may leave you begging for more BB, you can also finish out this year with a few tour dates in Ohio, Minnesota, and Oregon. As always, stay tuned for more news as it’s announced.

Broken Bells 2010 Tour Dates:
12/03 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
12/06 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
12/09 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom (KNRK show)

First, Mercer’s current outfit, Broken Bells, performed a live set and among the songs tackled was a rendition of the Sparklehorse-penned, Mercer-featuring Dark Night of the Soul track “Insane Lullaby”. The song has been performed live by the band of late, but, according to KCRW, it was the first time the group ever performed the track on the radio. So check out the high-res debut below.

And if that weren’t enough, Mercer also used the radio appearance to confirm he has not only been working on new Shins material between tours with Broken Bells, but that a studio is now being set up to record said material. The Shins frontman gave no indication as to when the record could be unveiled, but did note it will probably be his next release.

In the meantime, you can pick up a physical copy of Dark Night of the Soul when it sees release on July 13th.

As Pitchfork points out, the outfit, which currently consists of frontman/Broken Bell’er James Mercer and guitarist Dave Hernandez along with Modest Mouses’ Joe Plummer on drums and producer Sean Flora playing keyboards, chose to cover Squeeze’s “Goodbye Girl” for its first new piece of music in over two years. And despite Mercer’s recent love affair with Danger Mouse, the end result sounds like something you would expect from The Shins –  three minutes of indie pop bliss.

The song can be downloaded for free here. Below, you’ll find an in-studio video of the band covering the track.

Do be aware though that this song isn’t necessarily a sign of things to come. Mercer is still very much engaged with Broken Bells and, as he told The Quietus earlier this year, he doesn’t expect to reconvene The Shins — at least permanently — until 2011. So make this thing last as long as you can.

Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock’s side-project Ugly Casanova contributed eight songs to the film’s soundtrack while Shins/Broken Bells leader James Mercer shares two, one of which is a cover of Neil Young’s “Journey Through the Past”. Jack Johnson!, Love as Laughter, and Mason Jennings will also be heard on the soundtrack when it sees release on June 22nd via Brushfire.

According to a press release (via P4k), 180° South “retraces Yvon Chouinard’s and Doug Tompkins’ epic 1968 journey to Patagonia through the eyes of adventurer Jeff Johnson.” In addition, the film also involves efforts to protect Patagonia from development.

You can watch the film’s trailer below. Screenings are scheduled to take place in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Austin, and Asheville between April and July.

180° South Tracklist:
01. Ugly Casanova – “Mountains of Storms”
02. Ugly Casanova – “Here’s to Now”
03. Mason Jennings – “Machines”
04. James Mercer – “Doug’s Theme”
05. Ugly Casanova – “Wave Goodbye”
06. Ugly Casanova – “Lonesome Blues”
07. James Mercer – “Journey Through the Past”
08. Ugly Casanova – “Hotcha Girls”
09. Jack Johnson – “Spring Wind”
10. Ugly Casanova – “Maybe We’re Lost”
11. Ugly Casanova- “Corcovado”
12. Love as Laughter – “Coconut Flakes”
13. Ugly Casanova – “The Geezer”
14. Ugly Casanova – “Lay Me Down”

Considering that Broken Bells’ debut only dropped this past week, and this being their first show in the city, it was hard to gauge exactly how the band was going to translate in a live setting. Opening act Plants and Animals played for a short amount of time. The trio from Canada wailed through a decent set, however, something seemed to be lacking. They sound like a band that hasn’t figured out exactly what kind of music they want to play. With long jams and high pitched harmonies, they showed potential, but moreover presented themselves with an overarching lack of confidence.

Broken Bells’ set up was intense. A myriad of keyboards spread sporadically across the stageleaving the crowd to speculate just how many people were actually in this band. Once Mercer hit the stage around 9:40, with Danger Mouse in tow, six others joined them and answered the aforementioned question. Boy, were they tight. They had the stage presence of a band that has been playing for years. Everything was flawless. I don’t say that lightly, either. And moreover, they were really into it.

There were smiles from the backing band when they closed their eyes and belted out the haunting harmonies of album opener, “The High Road”. During a cut of “ The Ghost Inside”, one of the album’s stellar highlights, Mercer’s falsetto was unexpected but appreciated. Much like The Shins, Mercer’s work here is downright catchy, too. “The Mall and the Misery” has been stuck in my head  for days. (You know it’s good when you wake up in the morning and your first thought is still a ringing of a song from the night before.) In hindsight, it’s odd because you hear influences of the Shins mashed up with the never predictable Danger Mouse, who seems to bleed of electronic grooves. The man does it all. Throughout the night, he switched up instruments, everywhere from the drumset to the piano, and even behind the guitar. He was just everywhere. You could tell he cared about being there, too, and that he was having fun. Mercer and Danger Mouse are quite the team, and together they blasted through the entire album, recreating every sound with practically no effort. What’s more, it all came off more natural than you would imagine.

There were no Shins songs to be heard tonight, because this was not a Shins show. This was Mercer showcasing something brand new. The only way you could tell that this was their first show was the fact that Mercer would often look to the other members to offer cues on when to start and stop. This just proves how meticulous he is about how he presents his music. The encore did include one surprise, a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ classic “Crimson and Clover”. The whole audience was won over by a song that everyone knew the words to. It is hard to play a show only a day after your album drops — especially when the audience doesn’t know every word — and when you come from a band that has a lot of credibility (at least from Zach Braff!). However, Broken Bells demands your attention, and as my friend put it after the show: “Mercer’s fingers fly like airplanes through music.” While it might have been stolen from Almost Famous, it seemed all too appropriate.

You might be surprised that Broken Bells’ self-titled debut is actually a worthwhile listen. Forget any expectations you have. You probably expect a brilliant collaboration or a devastating failure, and neither is true. What you have here is a very, very good debut that is self-confident without being in love with itself.

The most notable quality of Broken Bells is Burton’s production style. The penchant for familiar sounds tweaked just enough to sound fresh keeps the songs moving, even when the lyrics are so-so. “Your Head Is On Fire” opens up with a mix of outer-space noises and California-rock harmonies before becoming a Beatles homage. Mercer’s voice gets just enough reverb to blend with the whispering background vocals and lethargic percussion to become the soundtrack for a summer stroll. Album highlight “The Ghost Inside” is the best Gnarls Barkley track the duo never recorded. From the “Crazy”-esque rhythm to falsetto vocals, it’s damn catchy. Mercer sounds surprisingly in his element working a tune that is a brief remix away from danceable. You might feel guilty grooving to the bittersweet refrain “For that daughter she’s a star tonight, without warning she gave up the ghost inside”, but you won’t be able to help it.

Form the harmonies to the orchestration, “Citizen” could have been lifted straight from the Beck’s Modern Guilt. In fact, much of Broken Bells reminds you of Burton and Mercer’s past work, and with rare exception you won’t mind. The songs don’t sound like complete retreads or like clumsy collaborations but rather like two artists who are playing up their strengths. Mercer delivers straightforward vocals that convey a surprising amount of emotion with little inflection and the result is more effective than much of what he’s done with the Shins. Like last year’s debut from The xx and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Broken Bells doesn’t sound like a complicated album on its first few listens but eventually reveals itself to be an exercise in precision. In its brief 30 minutes you think, “That was fun…but is that it?” And by the fourth or fifth listen you’ll realize no minute is wasted and no sound extraneous. The album doesn’t have any samples and the use of live instrumentation comes through in the arrangements.

Even “Trap Doors”, which might be a bit softer than necessary, ends up working better than you’d expect. In the first minute, the Top 40 sound feels out of place, but by the end the monotonous, glum melody becomes a fitting contrast to the more upbeat rhythm of “Citizen”, which follows. Sequencing helps the LP move swiftly. Group deceptively simple pop songs incorrectly and you make listeners shrug and hit Stop before the album’s over.

Hopefully this isn’t the only release we’ll get from the duo, but even if it is, I suspect we’ll detect this focus in the artists’ work from here on out, and that’s a very, very good thing. Broken Bells hits its mark track after track, yielding an impressive debut from a collaboration that could have flopped.

The performance that followed was reportedly quite good. “Ad four- and five-part harmonies and some ace songwriting by Mercer and the live experience had a wall of sound, Floydian feel, melodies grinding through spiral video projected on the stage,” Sternberg wrote, going to note that “after each song everybody seemed to turn and look at each other with eyebrows raised as if to say, ‘wow, that actually sounded really good.’” In all, Broken Bells performed the 10 tracks from their forthcoming self-titled debut, as well as — and this will get you super jealous — covers of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” and Tommy James and the Shondell’s “Crimson and Clover”. Yeah, seriously.

Incredibly enough, an unbelievably awesome YouTube user by the name Foundtrack recorded and upload a quality recording of the entire performance. Check the videos out here; watch selected highlights, including “The High Road” “Vaporize”, and “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, below! This stuff is unreal.

As it stands now, Broken Bells have three more live appearances on their upcoming itinerary — two in Europe and one at South by Southwest, opening for Spoon!!!, next month. Broken Bells, the album, is due out on March 2nd via Sony.

Broken Bells 2010 Tour Dates:
03/01 – Paris, FR @ Nouveau Casino
03/03 – London, UK @ ICA
03/17 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs (SXSW) *

* = w/ Spoon, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, & The Walkmen

“As things started to wind down for me I wanted to try something totally different,” Mercer explained. “It’d had started to feel heavy [in The Shins]. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, maybe a solo thing or a new band. And Brian [Dangermouse] happened to be having the same kind of ideas.”

Some — namely those uber pessimists! — took these comments to signal the end of the Portland indie outfit as we know it. However, in another recent interview, this time with MTV, Mercer sought to clear up any confusion.

“There’s some truth [to the NME quote], but I don’t want it to be exaggerated,” Mercer said. “[I was asked about] the idea right now of going back in and starting with those blank pages and working hard on a fourth [Shins] record. [Broken Bells] was just, like, something fun. So fun to do and so different that it was just so fresh and new, and also the fact that it was going to challenge me vocally, sort of having to come up with different approaches to my singing — I couldn’t resist it.”

Mercer went on to note that he plans to release a new Shins album in the not too distant future, possibly by 2011. But even then, he intends to release the followup to the still forthcoming Broken Bells first: “This is the project right now. We’re already working on another album… I’m really interested in this.”

Broken Bells will be available in stores March 9th; however, there is currently a deluxe limited edition music box available via pre-order here. The box includes a 44-page booklet, postcards, stickers, and the CD. Broken Bells will also be available on a 180-gram vinyl with an album download code. Enough about logistics, check out the video.

Some notables: Folk singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez kicks off the album with a cover of Minogue’s “Hand on Your Heart”, Mates of State tackle Tom Waits’ “Long Way Home”, and James Mercer (The Shins fame) and brother Robert cover Bob Dylan’s “Spanish Harlem Incident”. The album also features covers of songs by Paul McCartney, Paul Davis, The Zombies, and Daniel Johnston.

You can download the album on iTunes right now. See the tracklist below:

Sweetheart 2010 Tracklist:
01. Jose Gonzalez – Hand on Your Heart (Kylie Minogue cover)
02. Grand Archives – Cupid (Sam Cooke cover)
03. James Mercer & Robert Mercer – Spanish Harlem Incident (Bob Dylan cover)
04. Spoon – Love Song (The Damned cover)
05. Elvis Perkins – Teneme en Tu Corazon (Keep Me in Your Heart) (traditional)
06. The Long Winters – Give Me All Your Lovin‘ (ZZ Top cover)
07. Yo La Tengo – You Make Me Feel Good (The Zombies cover)
08. Céu – Eu Amo Você (I Love You) (Tim Maia cover)
09. Diane Birch – I Go Crazy (Paul Davis cover)
10. Jason Collett and Zeus – Every Night (Paul McCartney cover)
11. The Avett Brothers – I Love (Tom T. Hall cover)
12. Mates of State – Long Way Home (Tom Waits cover)
13. Angelique Kidjo – Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away) (Jacques Brel cover)
14. Hey Marseilles – True Love Will Find You in the End (Daniel Johnston cover)

Broken Bells is available March 8th/9th via Columbia.

In addition to singing and songwriting, Mercer handles guitar and bass, while Danger Mouse plays organ, drums, piano, synths and bass. The pair play all the instruments on the album with the exception of a full string section arranged by Daniele Luppi. Not surprisingly, Danger Mouse also handled production. The album was recorded with Todd Monfalcone and Kennie Takahashi at Mondo Studio in Los Angeles.

For a sample ahead of the single’s release, we suggest you head to Stereogum and find the results of their “amateur detective” work.

Oh and just in case you were wondering how a dude from The Shins hitched up with the dude from Gnarls Barkley, according to the issued press release, “Danger Mouse and Mercer first met face-to-face backstage at the 2004 Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen. The pair immediately hit it off and kept in touch over the prevailing half decade and in May 2008 seized the opportunity to finally collaborate on original music together. Once in the studio, the musical floodgates opened, an intuitive ease and seemingly ego-less telepathy producing an astonishing flow of new material over the course of a year. From more than 20 pieces of new music written and recorded, Broken Bells was assembled from 10 songs that coalesced together the most seamlessly.”