Album Review: THE SHINS

Album reviews by ACID
Artiste: The Shins
Album: Port of Morrow
Label: Aural Apothecary/Columbia/Sony Music

I’VE been listening to too much crap on the radio. That’s about the only thought that ran through my head after I had a first listen to Port of Morrow, the latest album by the Albuerquerque, New Mexico band The Shins.

Fronted by vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter James Mercer, The Shins has had a nine year history that is sometimes meandering but has never failed to dull. The details of all that are plonked onto reference sites, but for this album itself was released through the talented Mercer’s Aural Apothecary label.

The Shins’ history has seen the entry and exits of various musicians, and this time around Port of Morrow features Jessica Dobson, Richard Swift as fellow songwriters, drummer Joe Plummer (formerly of Modest Mouse) and the Crystal Skulls’ Yuuki Mathews. Yet through it all, you still have the funniest, faintest idea that sometimes, The Shins should’ve just been called Jimmy Mercer & The Band – he dominates through the entire 10-track album that much.

Jaded and autumnal at times, wistful but never earnest, Port Morrow’s songs contain well-crafted lyrics and simple though impressionable melodies that linger with you long after the song has ended, right from the dirty-bass’ed opener The Rifle’s Spiral itself.

Together with the dark honey of Mercer’s vocals, the lyrics however, are pointed, mildly galling, which makes an interesting juxtaposition between melody and words. Here’s an example: in No Way Down, Mercer sings “Out beyond the western squalls in an alien land they work for nothing at all, they don’t know the mall or the lay-away plan”.

Over and all, this is not the kind of album that grabs you immediately but lures you and lulls you into loving them – but loving them for the long term. And why did I write  I’d been listening to too much crap on the radio? Well, when you come across material like Port of Morrow, the difference is as stark as it can be, and is a truly sweet reminder of what else is out there. This is actually my first introduction to The Shins but I think the acquaintance will be a long one.