In 2010, James Mercer, lead vocalist and guitarist of The Shins, teamed up with famed producer Dangermouse to create Broken Bells, an outstanding project intertwining the duos two respective styles. As incredible as the endeavour was, however, it posed one significant problem: It distracted one of indie rocks greatest pioneers and songwriters.
Then, with a great sigh of relief Port of Morrow hit the public. The album, The Shins first in nearly six years, combines all elements of Mercer and crews musical proclivities. Ports of Morrow is a tactful melange of the sprightly guitar driven rock of his early work, and the detailed production of the last effort, Wincing the Night Away. The production, however, is not overbearing, every added note has its place, and is inserted with grace and thought: it is detailed, but not over-produced. Despite the band's attention to detail, they did not forget the accessible tunes that made them acclaimed. Underneath the layers of instrumentation, are simple, great, pop songs.
Lyrically, Mercer picks up right where he left off. Port of Morrow shows that despite his forays into different genres, Mercer is still able to match the perfect words to the music, and offer witty yet insightful couplets. He has no big-picture, Dylan-esque, acumen, but his lyrics are heartfelt and clever. His talent has not lost steam.
Indie rock has come a long way since the last Shins album, and there was inherent risk of the band being left behind. With Port of Morrow, however, Mercer and his gang show that their brief venture from the limelight has not affected their ability to be innovators of the genre they helped create. Truly a great record!
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