The Shins - Port of Morrow [March 12th 2012 in The Courier

It’s been 5 years since the excellent Wincing the Night Away but will Port Of Morrow have been worth the wait? 5 years during which the majority of the band, minus James Mercer, left and were replaced, Mercer set up his own record label after The Shins’ contract with Sub Pop had expired and he had a little jaunt with DangerMouse in the form of Broken Bells.

With the help of legendary pop producer Greg Kurstin, who has helped out the likes of Lily Allen and The Wanted, Port of Morrow has a lot of sheen. It would be fair to say that, at points, Port of Morrow has been polished so much its almost unrecognisable as a product of The Shins. While the likes of ‘Bait and Switch’ hearken back to the band’s early material, tracks like ‘It’s Only Life’ feel comparatively a little out of place.

The Shins have never been a band to do high gloss pop songs but Mercer’s recent jaunt in Broken Bells has shown he can do it. His reasoning for pop-ifying Port of Morrow is sound but, for a band that do better when stripped back, it doesn’t feel right.

It’s not a bad album by any means; all of the songs are solid with the likes of ‘September’ feeling most The Shins-y, but this pop gloss doesn’t seem to suit the band as much as Mercer might have hoped.

3 1/2 / 5
Recommended download: 'Bait & Switch'