Broken Bells is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse) and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

. Broken Bells compose and create as a duo, but are joined by

Dan Elkan Dan Elkan (born September 7, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and producer, who is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Them Hills. Elkan has performed live with Broken Bells, Hella, and Kim Deal, and has appeared on ...

and

Jon Sortland Jon Sortland (born September 12, 1973) is an American musician, record producer and video director, currently playing the drums for indie rock band The Shins. Sortland has also played drums, bass, keyboards and backing vocals in the band Broken ...

when performing live. The previous live band included Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band sidemen

Nate Walcott Nate Walcott (born March 6, 1978) is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He is a member of the ba ...

and

Nik Freitas Nik Freitas is a singer-songwriter from Visalia,Nik Freitas homepageConor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band ...

, and Jonathan Hischke and

, both ex-members of

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possibl ...

. Following their 2010 self-titled debut album, the duo released an EP, '' Meyrin Fields'', in 2011 and their second studio album, '' After the Disco'', in 2014.

History

Brian Burton and James Mercer decided to work together after meeting at the Roskilde Festival in 2004 and finding they were fans of each other's work. By March 2008, Mercer and Burton had finally begun recording together in secret at Burton's

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based studio. The project was first announced on September 29, 2009. The two described their material as "melodic, but experimental, too." Prior to the formation of Broken Bells, Mercer and Burton both worked together on the track "Insane Lullaby" on the album ''

Dark Night of the Soul ''Dark Night of the Soul'' ( es, La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two book-length commentari ...

'' by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse. Broken Bells have since performed the song several times, often as a tribute to the late

Mark Linkous Mark Linkous (September 9, 1962 – March 6, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse. He was also known for his collaborations with such notable artists as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Daniel John ...

, the Sparklehorse frontman who died in early 2010. Broken Bells' self-titled debut album was released in the United States and Canada on March 9, 2010 through Columbia Records, and has sold over 400,000 copies domestically, peaking at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album has received positive reviews. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine gave it a four-star review and stated that it was "the year’s coolest left field pop disc." Besides their album being among the year’s highest charting debut albums, the band had sold-out shows on their first-ever tour. Broken Bells released an EP titled '' Meyrin Fields'' on March 18, 2011. On February 14, 2012, in an interview with KINK.FM (a Portland, Oregon radio station), James Mercer stated that he was currently working on Broken Bells' second album. On October 8, 2013, the band announced the release of its second album, '' After the Disco''. Broken Bells released their lead single from the album, titled "Holding on for Life", on November 4, 2013. ''After the Disco'' was released on February 4, 2014. That same day they covered "And I Love Her" alongside footage of Ringo Starr on an old television as part of the "Late Show With David Letterman" "Beatles Week" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band's debut appearance on "Ed Sullivan". The band performed "Holding on for Life" on the March 7, 2014 episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". On December 7, 2018, they released "Shelter", their first single in 3 years. A follow up single, "Good Luck", was issued on September 27, 2019. The first single from their third album, '' Into the Blue'', "We're Not in Orbit Yet...", was released on June 29, 2022, after an eight-year hiatus.They issued a new single, "Saturdays", on August 10, 2022. On September 21, they released a new single titled “Love On The Run”.

Members

Official members * James Mercer – lead vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards * Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) – keyboards, bass, drums, production Touring members *

– guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals *

– drums, keyboards, bass, vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Awards and nominations

Broken Bells were nominated at the 2011 Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album.

Notes

References

External links

*
LAist - Broken Bells Live Debut at The Bootleg Theater
- Review and Photos
Broken Bells on NPR's World Cafe
- 2010 Interview and live performance {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from California Indie rock musical groups from California American musical duos Musical groups established in 2009 American space rock musical groups Rock music supergroups