When Danger Mouse's kaleidoscopic production meets James Mercer's melancholic croon, the result splits the difference between The Shins' indie earnestness and Gnarls Barkley's studio trickery. The High Road and The Ghost Inside shimmer with vintage synthesisers and reverb-drenched guitars, suggesting what might have happened if late-period Beatles had discovered drum machines.

Critics praised the duo's restraint, though that same politeness sometimes dulls the edges. Still, this 2010 debut proved side projects could achieve commercial legitimacy, reaching number seven on the Billboard 200 while maintaining credibility.