Fans of the Shins will praise James Mercer for putting together a new album. Being five years from their last efford, Wincing the Night Away, the band are back, well, a band is here, and James Mercer is here with a Shins album? The best way to describe it is that Jamer Mercer assembled a bunch of musicians that he wanted to play with, including Joe Plummer from Modest Mouse, Yuuki Matthews of The Crystal Skulls, and Janet Weiss to bring you Port of Morrow.

A lot of that original Shins sound has been stripped away, modified, and still ends up sounding like a Shins album. New to the band is the addition of the keyboard, largely absent from past Shins releases, and you get up front and close with it on the first track “The Rifle’s Spiral.” Mercer grabs at many influences here; “September” feels like it could have been an Everly Brothers tune, capturing a part indie pop, part country influence. On “No Way Down” Mercer does his best impression of Billy Joel, sounding so much like him that it’s hard to separate it at times. Mercer flirts heavily with 70’s soft rock on the track “For a Fool” almost to the song’s detriment.

The album feels like Mercer learned a lot from Danger Mouse on their collaboration Broken Bells, especially with the addition of that keyboard on certain tracks. Mercer plays with the Beatles, as he has with them on previous albums, but cuts back on the psychedelic rock of his previous releases. “Fall of ’82” certainly has that feel of Sgt. Pepper territory, especially with that trumpet hanging around and the “Lucky in the Sky with Diamonds” chime. On Port of Morrow, Mercer has created his most interesting Shins work since Oh, Inverted World. It’s entertaining, but may not always be the best to swallow.

Album Rating: Stream It or Digitally Download It (Legally of Course)

Listening Co-efficient: Passive Listen

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