They are one of pop music's oddest couples. One resides in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, with his wife and two children. The other lives alone in Los Angeles and carries the reputation as something of a ladies' man.One is the quirky voice behind one of indie-rock's most beloved bands. The other is considered one of pop music's most innovative producers.Yet the union of James Mercer, the frontman for indie outfit the Shins, and Brian Burton, the super-producer best known as Danger Mouse, appears to be something special.

They first met backstage in 2004 at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. And it would be several years before the two would form what is now the Broken Bells.The result of their union is a stunning self-titled album of psychedelic pop music.''We kept running into each other at festivals,'' Mercer says. ''We'd have conversations about how much Brian's career was taking off. He had a No.1 hit.''

With the Shins essentially a solo vehicle for Mercer and in limbo since their excellent 2007 album Wincing the Night Away, the 39-year-old had been seeking out a new musical partner.Who better than the man behind Gnarls Barkley?A plan was hatched for Mercer to leave his family in Portland for a month and bunk down in the spare room of Burton's house. Call it a musical bromance.With no songs in hand, the two started from scratch; Burton played keyboards and drums, Mercer worked on melodies and guitar parts.Soon enough, the two had a routine. Mercer would fly to LA every other month. They would convene for breakfast each morning and then get to work on the music.''I wanted to feel less precious about my songs,'' Mercer says. ''I was envious of people in bands who collaborated heavily in the writing process. I wanted to find somebody who is a good match for the dynamic.''

When it's pointed out to Mercer that with the Shins, he has a group of musicians who have previously collaborated with him in the now-defunct band Flake and would probably like to collaborate with him again, he pauses.''I had collaborated in the past with those guys,'' he concedes. ''But as part of another band. Then the Shins was created specifically for me to have control of. I wanted to do something new and have something novel for me.''

The songs themselves often veer into melancholic territory. The album has been described as a virtual concept record, about two people intensely getting to know each other. Which, he says, it kind of was.''I can see why they say that,'' he says. ''It does feel like there is a thread through the whole record. A lot of the lyrics were informed by Brian and I having those late-night conversations you have when you're working with and getting to know somebody. I guess our conversations turned a bit bleak more often than I would like to think. Maybe it was the period of time we were working on it? There was a lot going on in the world that was pretty scary. Particularly with the economy falling apart.''

Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road was also an inspiration. Opening track and first single 'The High Road', for instance, boasts a video with the two walking a lonely road in the middle of the night with flashlights. Strange things appear every few moments.''That song shows a strong section of what I've done in the past but also has a pretty heavy thumbprint of that Danger Mouse production,'' Mercer says.

Another standout track, 'The Ghost Inside', came later on in recording.Mercer entered the studio's vocal booth to mess about so he sang in falsetto. Shockingly, it felt right.''Brian really liked it,'' he says. ''I did a few different takes and we ended up making it three different sections of the song.''

How did Mercer's wife feel about his musical bromance in LA?''She came down a little,'' he says. ''It's difficult to maintain a schedule if we have the kids there.''

A world tour, taking in Australia, is planned for this year and ''we'll definitely do another record. We already have a bunch of cool stuff sitting there.''He is clear on the future of the Shins: ''The Shins are still going. Will making music this way affect the next Shins record? I bet it will. I learnt a lot about recording and even my performance abilities. I'm singing better than I ever have.''

Andrew Murfett