The Witzard

Broken Bells (@broken_bells) have been teasing something since about August with cryptic black-and-white in-studio Polaroid -esque photos , some dated as far back as 7/26/18. Broken Bells is, of course, the collaborative duo of James Mercer & Brian Burton . Mercer is the long-time frontman of The Shins/Flake Music and Burton is also, known as super-producer Danger Mouse ; who has worked with everyone from MF DOOM (DANGERDOOM) to The Black Keys , A$AP Rocky to Parquet Courts , and likely, most famously, as Gnarls Barkley with Cee-Lo . Since initially forming in 2008-09, Broken Bells have released two full-lengths, 2010's Broken Bells and 2014's After The Disco , as well as a 2011 EP dubbed Meyrin Fields and a number of non-album singles. Honestly, we, here at The Witzard , personally, favor Broken Bells' self-titled 2010 debut, but their entire cannon of music is phenomenal! Lest we forget, Broken Bells courted a then-relatively unknown Christina Hendricks (...

"It feels really great to be putting out music for the same reason I got into music, in the first place. "I Won't Live Until I Die" is a dark tune, but so am I half the time I pick up a guitar," nephew to beloved 1980-90's PBS The Joy of Painting host Bob Ross and singer-songwriter Morgan Cameron Ross wrote within a statement recently sent directly to The Witzard . "I Won't Live Until I Die" was written along with Platinum -selling artist Bobby Bazini and additionally features Kevin Bacon 's nephew, Justin Nozuka on background vocals. Ross filmed himself playing "I Won't Live Until I Die," sub-titled JOYFUL ART Tutorial , accompanied by a slightly tongue-in-cheek Bob Ross -esque hand-painted depiction of a snow-capped mountainous landscape "keeping with family tradition;" Moran Cameron Ross continues, "Before we get started, we're going to do a list of all the colour names below" as a list s...

"'Strangers" was definitely inspired by our time living in California . We wanted it to sound like how California feels to us... portray that image of quintessential California , which sometimes can simply be that girl in a sundress with that pretty California smile," LA -based Indie Pop trio The Rebel Light previously told The Line of Best Fit . Brothers Alan & Jarrett Stell and their cousin Brandon Cooke have already been compared to the likes of The Shins , Grizzly Bear, The Beach Boys , Todd Rundgren, Ariel Pink , The Doors, and The 5th Dimension during their brief tenure. The Rebel Light 's latest self-released single, "Strangers" "was recorded at home, with the vocals being laid down in the bathroom and the drum parts recorded in a wood shed," according to UK -based Clash magazine . It would appear as though The Rebel Light have managed to garner a considerable following across the pond, ironically, wherein many of the sun...

After what even most die-hard Shins fans would consider a pretty lackluster album attempt, frontman James Mercer has reunited with producer-buddy Danger Mouse aka Brian Burton to write and record a new Broken Bells album, After The Disco . Broken Bells (1) was essentially Mercer's "solo" debut and once again, he's comfortably playing the Run-D.M.C. to Danger Mouse 's Rick Rubin ; who seems to play best with others, ie: Gnarls Barkley , Gorillaz, The Black Keys , Beck, Portugal. The Man , etc. Lead single "Holding On for Life," which was previously included within an album teaser, has been self-described by Burton as a mix between late 1980-90's Dr. Dre or Ice Cube and Bee Gees -style falsetto. After The Disco will become available this upcoming January 14th and will feature micro-appearances from Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) on horns, Daniel Lupi -orchestrated string arrangements, man-made drum machine fills by Brian Burton himself, and...

The Postal Service are what you could call a "guilty pleasure," a band that represents a certain phase in my life, and about as far as I ever delved into Electro-Pop/Emo , thankfully ha. It's Ben Gibbard 's side-project that released one widely-acclaimed album, Give Up (2003), which most fans, including myself, actually prefer more than Death Cab for Cutie . While swirling rumors about a follow-up and band reunion have always gone unrequited, the only thing to really materialize since Give Up is a recently re-released 10th anniversary 2-CD set. Sub Pop even managed to convince Ben Gibbard and in-house producer Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel) to finally reunite for a lengthy 36-date summer tour, along with sometime(s) members Jenny Lewis and Laura Burhenn on background vocals and additional instruments. "A Tattered Line of String" is one of 2 new, previously unreleased tracks included on Give Up: Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition , which is currently avai...