Broken Bells, the indie rock duo of frontman James Mercer from The Shins and producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton, returned recently, and they've brought out some big guns and explored outer-space in an eponymous short film video for latest track "Holding On For Life," the lead single off the group's upcoming sophomore album "After The Disco," due for release on February 4. The video does have the larger scale that a film would. It contains impressive lighting, intense character story line and even plot development. The video has a retro feel but has modern elements that are brought in through the production of the music.
Accidentally channels Bee Gees, the indie-disco number finds vocalist Mercer channeling his inner Barry Gibb. "I was in the vocal booth and I was like, 'Let me try this falsetto thing,'" he recalled to NME. "But it was when we doubled the track that I was like, 'Oh my God, it's the f---ing Bee Gees! On a Shins record, that song would sound like a joke, but with Broken Bells, you change the context and it works really well." The single, "Holding On for Life," does feature a very unique sound. It combines indie influences with a futuristic background of guitars and electronica music.
Rolling Stone described the song as "a Bee Gees-like indie-disco number," a sentiment also expressed by NPR's Bob Boilen, who wrote that he "heard Bee Gees in something like this." In an interview with Boilen, Danger Mouse concurred with this comparison, saying, "It sounded kind of like the Bee Gees a little bit, but so what, the Bee Gees had some good choruses." Danger Mouse, who wrote the story, recently told Rolling Stone that the sort of retro vision of the future was inspired by watching old science-fiction movies. The duo challenged themselves to make a "Broken Bells" album in a vintage way, using minimal instruments over which Mercer would sing.
Directed by Jacob Gentry, the sci-fi-themed clip is a sequel to a previously released "Angel and the Fool" video and both of which starring Anton Yelchin and actress Kate Mara. The clip makes for a taut yet open-ended storyline about a human and a spacewoman fall in love and the side effects of inhaling vapors in a space helmet at a party. It finds its lovelorn lead characters in astronaut suits at a smoky space party where looks are deceiving. The duo are visible as spirit guides throughout the video, donning some very sharp Star Trek-ish unitards. It's a great piece of weird, disjointed sci-fi filmmaking well worth to watch.
Accidentally channels Bee Gees, the indie-disco number finds vocalist Mercer channeling his inner Barry Gibb. "I was in the vocal booth and I was like, 'Let me try this falsetto thing,'" he recalled to NME. "But it was when we doubled the track that I was like, 'Oh my God, it's the f---ing Bee Gees! On a Shins record, that song would sound like a joke, but with Broken Bells, you change the context and it works really well." The single, "Holding On for Life," does feature a very unique sound. It combines indie influences with a futuristic background of guitars and electronica music.
Rolling Stone described the song as "a Bee Gees-like indie-disco number," a sentiment also expressed by NPR's Bob Boilen, who wrote that he "heard Bee Gees in something like this." In an interview with Boilen, Danger Mouse concurred with this comparison, saying, "It sounded kind of like the Bee Gees a little bit, but so what, the Bee Gees had some good choruses." Danger Mouse, who wrote the story, recently told Rolling Stone that the sort of retro vision of the future was inspired by watching old science-fiction movies. The duo challenged themselves to make a "Broken Bells" album in a vintage way, using minimal instruments over which Mercer would sing.
Directed by Jacob Gentry, the sci-fi-themed clip is a sequel to a previously released "Angel and the Fool" video and both of which starring Anton Yelchin and actress Kate Mara. The clip makes for a taut yet open-ended storyline about a human and a spacewoman fall in love and the side effects of inhaling vapors in a space helmet at a party. It finds its lovelorn lead characters in astronaut suits at a smoky space party where looks are deceiving. The duo are visible as spirit guides throughout the video, donning some very sharp Star Trek-ish unitards. It's a great piece of weird, disjointed sci-fi filmmaking well worth to watch.
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1 comment:
Have you seen that they even have their tracks on spotify?! http://open.spotify.com/track/5KBU7oxkNJ0hDGby9A1plU so proud of these guys! Love it
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