After five years of silence, American indie-rock band The Shins released their newest record, “Port of Morrow” on March 20, 2012.
This five-part surf rock band, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, formed back in 1997 and has released four full-length albums to date.
“Port of Morrow” is the first Shins album not released by Sub Pop Records. Rather, this LP was released on lead singer and guitarist James Mercer’s new record label Aural Apothecary, via Columbia Records.
Fitting in perfectly with the recent EDM craze, The Shins explore more electronic instrumentation on this new album. These calculated beats are paired with a cleaner and more professional sounding version of The Shins, showing off their grown and more polished selves compared to their previous releases.
Though The Shins take the plunge into the mainstream electronic sounds, the quintet still keeps their melodic indie-rock-pop sounds present. The new musical sounds paired with Mercer’s uniquely recognizable voice enhance The Shins’ sound.
With 10 songs on the album, in addition to two bonus tracks, “Port of Morrow” expresses lyrics about love and both the ugly and beautiful meshed together.
Opening with “The Rifle’s Spiral,” the albums kicks off into a spiraling melody brought together with manufactured sounds, percussion and hoppy vocals. As the song progresses and the listener’s feet tapping commences, The Shins capture the auditor into a memorable beat and Mercer’s nostalgic voice brings feelings of pleasure and curiosity for what is to come on the record.
Perfectly progressing into the albums’ single “Simple Song,” The Shins remind fans “I know that things can get really rough/ When you go it alone/ Don’t go thinking you gotta be tough/ And play like a stone.” With the percussion sounding similar to a motivational chant put together with simple piano finger plucking, this uplifting track keeps audiences plugged into the album from the start.
The pace slows down as “It’s Only Life” begins to play and diverse instrumentation comes in sounding straight out of the 60’s. These perfected sounds are overpowered with Mercer’s comforting voice bringing listeners back to the “Phantom Limb” days.
As the songs continue to flow with ease into one another, the album brings in lyrics about childhood nostalgia and the meaning of life while somehow remaining seemingly more positive than The Shins’ previous three albums.
It is very apparent by the developed sounds that the band members behind this LP have shifted including bringing in Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, former Crystal Skulls bas guitarist Yuuki Matthews, guitarist Jessica Dobson and singer-songwriter Richard Swift. With fresh musicians come the revived sounds of “Port of Morrow” paired with Mercer’s vocals makes this album an improved version of the beloved Shins.
Mercer’s side project with producer Danger Mouse, Broken Bells, also shines through especially with the indie-space rock melodies that take The Shins to the next level in their sounds.
This 40-minute album was produced to please both long-time fans and new listeners alike. With the same front man and a fresh new band, The Shins have professionalized their sound and focused each of their individual talents and meshed them into “Port of Morrow.”
