Link: The Shins - Port Of Morrow
When I heard James Mercer effectively dismissed the musicians that helped establish the band to where they are now and help third LP ‘Wincing The Night Away’ reach number two in the American charts, alarm bells went off. I enjoyed it, and thought it had some very catchy numbers, but many Shins fans couldn’t take to Mercers Danger Mouse collaboration ‘Broken Bells’ and was wondering exactly where his heart lied. ‘Port Of Morrow’ confirms that his heart very much still lies with The Shins and its business as usual. Basically, it’s what Shins fans around the world have been waiting for these past five years. The Shins carved a career out of making quirky melodic college rock and that’s the values ‘Port Of Morrow’ sticks too here. First single “Simple Song”, Indie Pop at its best, is a back to form release from Mercer and the SNL performance backed this up perfectly. “Bait And Switch” is your trademark Shins song, that could have easily have fitted in on 2001’s classic ‘Oh, Inverted World’. The haunting backing vocals and slide-guitar on reflective love song “September” show the qualities of Mercers new band. My favourite track on the LP “No Way Down” is arguably as good as anything that Mercer’s produced yet. A fantastic comeback!
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