Broken Bells, 9:30 Club, Washington DC

At 2004’s Roskilde Festival, the paths of the Shins’s James Mercer and famed studio producer Danger Mouse (known to his mum as Brian Burton) fatefully crossed and a musical partnership was born. Fast forward several years later: recording under the name of Broken Bells, the two wrote and (with the noted exception of the strings section) played every single instrument on each song of their lauded self-titled debut album released earlier this year.

Broken Bells fully realised live is a cohesive unit, seven members strong. A seamless, psychedelic backdrop featuring sunsets, outer space and even the mysterious pink planet on the cover of their album (named BB114, according to a free postcard being given out after the show) provide a properly trippy atmosphere to the live show as well. The Washington date was the third to last on the band’s first-ever yet extensive tour of North America. And it looks like any pre-touring bugs with sound and execution (if there were any to begin with) have been worked out: rest assured, the warmth of sound from the album translates live wonderfully. Mercer’s lead vocals are spot on, and Burton shows his versatility, switching between keyboards set up center stage, a drum kit further back, and guitar.

‘The High Road’, the first single the duo released last year, understandably receives the most applause for the night, the audience clapping along with the band’s encouragement. The song’s emotional ending with the repeated ‘it’s too late to change your mind / you let loss be your guide’ is both melancholy and timeless. Mercer is mostly stoic during the set but finally cracks a smile after the song’s heady reception. The high continues with ‘Vaporize’, organ and trumpet combining with the melody superbly. ‘Your Head is on Fire’ earns the award for most surreal, trippiest tune of the night, but overall, best pop kudos go to ‘The Ghost Inside’, with a simple but memorable hook and singalong lyrics.

The band even goes so far as to raid great ‘60s back catalogues, playing versions of Tommy James and the Shondells’ ‘Crimson and Clover’ and the Motown classic from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, ‘You Really Got a Hold on Me’. These unexpected covers go down well, if not uproariously well. The band added these to their live repertoire out of necessity; without these two plus Mercer’s collaboration with Burton on ‘Insane Lullaby’ (a song from the forthcoming Danger Mouse / Sparklehorse album ‘Dark Night of the Soul’), their set would have lasted less than an hour.

When Broken Bells’ debut album first arrived on the scene, the band was widely billed as Burton and Mercer’s ‘side project’. Hopefully they have sussed by now from the many sold-out shows and the American crowds that have come to see them on this tour that people want this to turn into a more permanent partnership.