Artist-producer extrordinaire Danger Mouse (using his real name, Brian Burton) and The Shins’ lead singer and lead guitarist James Mercer have teamed up to form a new indie rock band called Broken Bells. The pair first met about a year ago, as they worked on the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse album, “Dark Night of the Soul” and their new project is the result of what they said were casual ideas first thrown around in the studio. The lead single from Broken Bells is the moody and melodic, “The High Road,” and it was released last month. The duo’s self-titled album (distributed by Sony) is due in stores in March. As for Burton and Mercer’s other groups? Gnarls Barkley and The Shins just might have reason to be concerned. Both musicians say Broken Bells isn’t just a one-off project, but that they’re in it for the long haul. With the buzz they’ve had so far, we wouldn’t bet against it.

Find out more about Broken Bells by visiting their official website at www.brokenbells.com and check out the video for first single, “The High Road,” below: