Broken Bells; After the Disco

Broken Bells; After the Disco

By Maggie Nichols
Thursday Review contributor

Broken Bells new album, After the Disco, released last month, was well worth the wait. This band has a great sound—a comfortable mix of smooth alternative sounds and upbeat vocals and rhythms—that makes for catchy songs, even if they are not nearly as edgy as many other alt bands.

This Los Angeles-based band’s sound, which some critics describe “space rock,” a term for which I could find no consistent definition, came together as a collaborative process between musicians James Mercer and Brian Burton. Having worked together in other bands prior to Broken Bells, they began their first studio recordings at Burton’s own facilities in L.A. Their first album was widely lauded by music critics and the music press as a great debut, and by early 2012 they were already at work on their new album—which took the next two years to complete.

Highlights on “After the Disco” include “Perfect World” and “Holding on for Life,” as well as the title cut “After the Disco.” In fact the CD is “front-loaded,” as it were, with the three most popular tunes right up front. However, there are no duds, which is why—after sampling the tunes on Amazon—I went ahead and purchased the CD, rather than buying a few of the songs individually. This album works nicely from start-to-finish, and will not disappoint alternative rock music lovers.