Broken Bells, Brianna

When I first bit the bullet and signed up for Spotify Premium a few years ago, I was in awe of all of the new music at my fingertips, and quickly tried to consume as much of it as possible. "The High Road" single by Broken Bells came up on my first Spotify-orchestrated Discovery Weekly playlist and I swear to God I thought this app was using black magic because there was no way it could pinpoint a song I immediately loved so easily. While I'm still not entirely convinced that black magic isn't in the mix, ya girl's more grateful than concerned for this witchy-ness for bringing Broken Bells into my world of music.

Its title track is a bonafide hit, but it was really the second track, "Vaporize," that got me hooked. Ask anyone who knows my musical taste and they'll tell you that I'm a sucker for some funky keys and a good brass section. Like Post Malone—add these elements to one of his songs and I'd be chanting SONG OF THE YEAR! While keeping it low key, "Vaporize" still manages to incorporate my favorite things in a way that had me jamming for days. "The Ghost Inside" was another one I instantly could not get out of my head (in fact, it's been there, clapping sequence and all, since this morning when I gave this number a relisten). For me, it's these two tracks that make this album top notch. The album hits a bit of a lull for me around "Sailing to Nowhere" and spans about a song or two after. Not that they aren't quality tunes, I just find myself drifting off between the slower melodies and more distorted, synthy sounds. While I do enjoy the nice orchestra number in that section of the album, I tend to skip over it in favor of the album's strong finish.

To be honest, I hadn't listened to this full album in a minute, though "The Ghost Inside" is still a go to when driving in 95-S traffic during rush hour every day, so I was excited to have the opportunity to revisit an old favorite. I'm glad to say its quality has stood the test of time, even as my music tastes have shifted and changed on multiple occasions since I first got Spotify Premium. I hear a new Broken Bells album is in the works this year; I have a feeling that it won't take any black magic to get me to listen to it this time around.