By Harry McCarthy ’13, Music Columnist
Many things have changed in the world of James Mercer since the last time we met with his talents on The Shins’ previous album, Wincing The Night Away. Although the man himself might be different, the music remains the same in the best way possible. Port of Morrow, The Shins’ fourth studio album, stays true to the classic Shins’ style of crossing genres to the point of confusion. There’s the album’s pounding opener, “The Rifles Spiral,” with its heavy kick drum usage accompanied by the sporadic yet melodic voice of James Mercer. I say that the man has changed because, well, he has quite a lot, and it shows through his lyrics. On previous albums, Mercer has been a master of stringing pleasant yet totally random sounding words together to go with the more important—and frankly more impressive—part of his work: the instrumental arrangement. On Port of Morrow, his words are much different; they actually mean something. Mercer’s exploration of his own thoughts of death and heartbreak contrasts perfectly with the upbeat arrangement. “Simple Song” is the shining example of this with its subtle piano fills that clash with the screaming guitar solo, creating one of the best driving songs of all time and quite possibly the summer song of 2012. The Shins’ music has always had this contrasting effect on me. It grips my attention one second and allows me to lose focus the next. I was very young when I was first introduced to this special kind of music. Wincing The Night Away was released in 2007, and a lot in my life has changed since then. Port of Morrow captures that for me more so than any Shins album to date, and I thank them for that.
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