Four years in the making, Danger Mouse and James Mercer (The Shins) are back at it, with their second offering as Broken Bells, After the Disco. The new album picks up where the last left off… lofty, emotional songs, as driven by powerful vocals and excellent production work. From the subtlest synthesizer touches to the overt guitar melodies, After the Disco is simply a well-crafted work of music.

The album is a cohesive display of emotion, earnestly capturing a sense of hopefulness that arises after melancholy. Every aspect of the music effectively brings out the comfortably somber mood, whether it’s the light synthesizers, vocal layerings, guitar fills, horns, etc. After the Disco succeeds in its attention to detail. You can check out the leading single, “Holding Onto Life,” below:

Broken Bells formed in 2008, releasing a self-titled LP in 2010 that rose to #7 on the Billboard charts. The duo actually met at a festival in 2004, but weren’t able to collaborate for several years. Finally, after meeting in Danger Mouse’s LA studio, Broken Bells released an album that was “melodic but experimental.”

After the Disco maintains this ambiance, with melodic pop tunes that rely heavily on incredibly-detailed technical production. Each song seems to flow from one to the next, capturing a similar mood, yet the album never feels repetitive. While a song like “The Changing Lights” will rely on vocal harmonies and heavy synthesizers to reach a climactic peak, the next song, “Control,” reaches a completely fresh sound with a pulsing acoustic guitar rhythm and a single vocalist, Mercer, singing rather emotionally. Not to mention the awesome horn section in this song as well.

The devil is in the details, as they say, and Broken Bells certainly paid attention. Somewhere in the midst of electronic dance and indie rock, Broken Bells stands tall, and After the Disco may be their best effort yet. All in all, anyone who appreciates music will appreciate this album. It is definitely worth the listen.

You can stream After the Disco, up until it’s February 4th release date, through iTunes radio. Let us know what you think!

You can also catch Broken Bells on their winter/spring tour, with all the dates listed on the Broken Bells website.

-David Melamed (@DMelamz)