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Broken Bells

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Apr 12, 2015
Category: Rock

You’re never going to forgive me — or stop thanking me — for this.

The song is “Holding On to Life,” by Broken Bells.

It’s addressed to a prostitute, a woman walking the street.

It starts like this:

Girl take a seat, rest your weary bones
Your secrets safe in my hands
Tell me about the years and
Let me buy an hour
Maybe help me to understand
Ain’t nobody callin’
Ain’t nobody home
What a lovely day to be lonely

And then it shifts. His voice goes higher. Oh my god. Can it be — all these years later — the BEE GEES?

Holding on for life
Holding on for life oh
Holding on for love.

Later, you’ll hear echoes of The Beatles. The electronic drums of ’70s and ‘80s English bands. Shards of indie, punk, new wave, and electro pop. And back to that refrain.

Warning: Hear it once, you’ll sing the chorus all day.

Listen:

The best $1.29 you’ll spend this week? This. [To download the single, “Holding On to Life,” from Amazon, click here.]

Who’s in “Broken Bells?” Glad you asked. The lead singer and guitarist of the Shins: James Mercer. And his musical partner: Brian Burton. (That name doesn’t register for you? The name he uses as a producer might: Danger Mouse. With CeeLo Green, Danger Mouse was Gnarls Barkley. Remember “Crazy” — “Who do you think you are/ bless your soul/ You really think you’re in control/ Well, I think you’re crazy.” Esquire Magazine says he’s one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century.)

An Amazon buyer commented: “You found out about this album because of ‘After the Disco’ and ‘Holding On For Life’, right? I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but what if I told you those aren’t even the best tracks on this record?’

He’s right. Here are more.

AFTER THE DISCO

PERFECT WORLD

LEAVE IT ALONE

NO MATTER WHAT YOU’RE TOLD

MEDECINE

By now, you might be thinking: I like all of these. Simple solution: Get the CD. [To buy the CD of Broken Bells and get a free MP3 download, click here. For the MP3 download, click here.]

The ultimate endorsement: This is the first time the small person and her parents have ever agreed on a new band. Correction: one song.

BONUS VIDEO
Broken Bells and Ringo Starr