Much has been made about the pairing of Danger Mouse and Shins frontman James Mercer, the creativity each man brings to the table is clearly stated on the pairs self titled debut album. The collaboration kept much of their dealings under wraps but with the albums release the world can finally hear the genius of both men.
Danger Mouse going under Brian Burton, his real name, for this project doesn’t need much of an introduction. For those unaware of his crazy talent, he rose to prominence with his now legendary remix The Grey Album. A remix combining Jay-Z’s The Black Album and The Beatles’ White Album. Other works of note include performing in Gnarls Barkley and Danger Doom, and producing Beck’s Modern Guilt and The Black Keys album Attack and Release amongst others. He has won an innumerable amount of Grammys and it seems as though everything he touches turns to gold. Personally anything Danger Mouse has his hand in, you can find me listening in amazement with the exception of Gnarls Barkley.
James Mercer, a favorite amongst the indie crowd, comes in with much less credentials than Danger Mouse but still has a wealth of talent. Shins got a huge boost in popularity when the song New Slang was heavily featured in the movie Garden State. But some uncertainty with the bands future has brought Mercer to Danger Mouse and given us a tremendous pairing.
In the future, when you look up the word “cool” in the dictionary you should see this picture.
That is exactly what Mercer and Burton are, cool. That is a perfect word to describe the album as well. When dealing with anything Danger Mouse does, you can’t put this album in one genre because it can fit in so many. It has a little bit of electronic, a bit of indie, a hint of a hip-hop feel. Make no mistake about it this is an alternative sounding album, but far from mainstream alt rock. The first single The High Road had some salivating when it was released last December, and it stills sounds as fresh now as it did then. Only one of the the many highlights the album has to offer. October ,for me at least, might be the strongest song on the album, it has a bit of an understated beauty to it. The Ghost Inside and Sailing to Nowhere are perfect evidence as to how unique and original Burton and Mercer can be.
Coming from two different worlds, but being a fan of each others works, their styles mesh well and neither of them feel out of their comfort zone. It’s an interesting step for both men and I don’t want to underplay how experimental this album really is. While it does fringe on experimental for both men, it doesn’t feel like uncharted water and can easily fit into their respective catalogs of work. The pairing was something to get excited about then and it is still exciting to have Mercer and Burton making music. Let’s hope this isn’t something like The Postal Service and we only have one album of great music. The album has been out for almost two weeks now and has done well in the charts. Having received generally good but mixed reviews, I think this is an album that could easily be placed in the conversation for album of the year. I love James Mercer and Danger Mouse so it that could be a bit biased, but not a stretch at all.
Final Grade: 9/10
Track Listing:
1. The High Road
2. Vaporize
3. Your Head is on Fire
4. The Ghost Inside
5. Sailing to Nowhere
6. Trap Doors
7. Citizen
8. October
9. Mongrel Heart
10. The Mall and Misery
