On the strength of the radio-friendly single, "Simple Song," The Shins' fourth album, Port of Morrow, merits Top Twenty inclusion. Men have drowned in their tears trying to create a song so splendid and accessible. The overarching melody and chorus is exceptionally strong, it seems almost irrational to deny the song's multi-faceted pleasures. It represents another polished pop gem that will continue to garner The Shins all of those Beatles comparisons.
Of course, Port of Morrow is really James Mercer's album, as was the case for the band's first three records. A largely new cast of players took the challenge to develop his superbly-crafted songs into larger sonic spaces. Mission accomplished. Listeners can hear some of the residue from Mercer's recent work with Danger Mouse; the record's production sounds gigantic when compared to The Shins' earliest material.
That said, Mercer attempts to cull the best sounds from prior records, too, from the elliptical indie rock of Oh, Inverted World, to the propulsive intracacies of Chutes Too Narrow, to the glossy production sheen of Wincing the Night Away. He is mostly successful, and the finished product is safe harbor for listeners seeking refuge from the storms of unoriginal, overprocessed pop music.
Port of Morrow's pleasures come from its cohesive variety: the pyschedelic folk strum of "September," the golden AM radio of "Fall of '82," the hypnotic trip-hop of the title track, the spindly guitars of "Bait and Switch." Without ever abandoning his big-tent appeal, Mercer's musical ideas are legion. So it makes sense that The Shins remain one of the biggest bands in indiedom, if that realm even contains the mainstream success at this point in time; most listeners have long since figured out that "New Slang" will change their lives. Though this record may not be that transformative, one cannot help but hope that Mercer will be writing songs for as many listeners as possible, for a long time to come.
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