It’s difficult to overstate just how staggering of a misfire
After the Disco is for Broken Bells.
The side-project(?) of The Shins’ James Mercer and producer Danger Mouse (aka
Brian Burton), Broken Bells debuted in 2010 with an eponymous full-length of
casually soulful indie rock that registered as- at best- irrepressibly endearing and- at worst- imminently listenable. If Broken
Bells slightly underwhelmed, it was only due to the sheer talent involved
and not the insidious nature of the album’s relentlessly (and I mean
relentlessly) hook-laden tracks. The world wasn’t exactly clamoring for a
second album; but it was easy to assume that a more evolved out-of-necessity
follow-up release could be a real doozy.
This brings us to After
the Disco. Veering lazily between seventies-era dancefloor tropes and
softcore radio kitsch, After the Disco
should be the catalyst that slams the door shut on the eye-rollingly ironic
revival of adult contemporary music. Much more than on their debut, Mercer and Burton merely go through the motions, opting to play
dress-up in lieu of inspiration. Consider “Holding Out For Life”, the album’s
lead single and arguably best track where Mercer wholeheartedly riffs on the
Bee Gees during the unending falsetto-fueled chorus. Once Broken Bells
establish this winking acknowledgement, the song’s only recourse is to repeat
itself until it inevitably morphs from homage to all-out ripoff (repeat: this is After
the Disco’s best track). All of the album is constructed in the same hollow
manner, superficially alternating between criminal overlength (album opener
“Perfect World” registers as a strong four-minute song stretched out over an
interminable six-plus minutes, “Lazy Wonderland” is another offender) and
bizarre atonal shifts (“After the Disco”, “No Matter What You’re Told”) that
bring any momentum to an abrupt standstill. It’s only on “Medicine” and
penultimate track “The Angel and the Fool” where Broken Bells briefly comes to
life, mainly because both songs could seamlessly fit within the
well-worn comfort of the band’s previous release. Somehow both self-indulgent and aloof, After the Disco reduces the
once-promising Broken Bells to a campy husk, garishly pointing at thrift store
iconography without daring to explore inside.
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