Broken Bells return with superb new single ‘Saturdays’
The best day of the week has another fitting anthem as Broken Bells have travelled back to the Maharishi-inflected world of sitar swirling sounds circa 1966 with their wavy new single ‘Saturday’. And it’s a bit of a beauty.
The collaboration of Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shins has been dormant since 2014’s After the Disco, but there was always a sense that there was plenty of life left in their chemistry. Now, the duo have got cooking with their next experiment, and ‘Saturdays’ is kicking off the revelry in big weekend style.
The single offers up a steady flow of rhythmic wonder. The contours of the track are limited, but like much of the best music from the mid-60s era, the sedate simplicity serves up a wallop of sound all the same. It’s a wavy ride but one that never sinks below the eye line of interest even for a second, thanks to a smattering of adrenalised flourishes.
With a bassline bouncing about a swarm of instrumentation like the old-school waltzing style of James Jamerson, there’s plenty in the sonic blur to tap your toes to, while Mercer provides a vocal take that serves as a beguiling topline melody. All these cutting touches ensure that the single is far from a pastiche of the ‘60s and offers a nice fresh slap of reimagined psychedelia.
The ‘razzy’ sound rattles around the eardrums like the thrill of a sunny Saturday noon with promising plans ahead. And let’s hope those plans pan out on the rest of the record, Into the Blue, which is due for release in October. With the first single ‘We’re Not in Orbit Yet’ already kicking things off with a cruising flow, things are shaping up rather brilliantly for the record.
You can check out the two singles offered up from the album so far below.
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