April 2nd, 2012 
Josh Hammond 
Artist: The Shins
Album: Port of Morrow
Genre: Indie Rock
Label: Columbia Records
In life, there is a long ass list of things that people take too seriously. Religion, politics and The Shins new album top that list. The second that Port of Morrow hit NPR, masses of talking heads protested against its existence. Like a kid in a grocery store who had been told no to his request for a candy bar, they flopped down in the aisles, kicking and screaming. “This doesn’t sound like The Shins” they exclaimed. “It sounds more like a James Mercer solo record!” One step away from protests and flaming pitchforks, the masses took to Twitter to rebel. However, during the rallies, they forgot to take one small fact into consideration: this album is fantastic.
When broken down to its simplest elements I find there to be two major approaches in the songwriting.
The first of the two lingers near the album’s simplicity. Tracks like “September” “Simple Song” and “40 Mark Strasse” rely heavily on Mercer’s ability to flawlessly create extensive plotlines, often painted with poetic vocabulary. Much like Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Mercer manages to find unique and creative ways to explain the most simple of situations. In “September” for example, Mercer exclaims “love is the ink in the well when her body writes.” In my opinion, a more beautiful line has never graced the liner notes of a record The Shins have released. Placed softly atop acoustic guitar and passive noise, the stand-alone lyrics speak for themselves. Yet, when your prose borders on perfection, there is no reason to hide it under fuzz and distracting audio.
However, don’t assume for a second that this is in any way an indicator that The Shins have gone soft. Nothing could be further from the truth to be honest. The album jumps off with a kick in the face in “The Rifle Spiral.” With driven drumbeats and cleverly placed piano the song remains steadfast in The Shins’ signature wheelhouse. “It’s Only Life” only manages to punctuate this procedure, tapping into an almost -like approach to songwriting. While the song represents an extremely new and unique sound for the band, it also shows a great deal of growth in their songwriting. In my opinion, “It’s Only Life” spotlights what might be the best place The Shins have ever been. Musically speaking, this song is them at their best.
It is because of this that I openly scold anyone who bites their thumb in the direction of this album. While I get that in the world of independent music both change and popularity are frowned upon (especially by assholes), there are both times and situations when a shift can be for the better. I mean, just think about the current state of music had The Beatles not experimented with drugs. Sure, people burned their records in church parking lots as a response to shift. However, on the other hand, they managed to pen some of the most game changing creations in the history of modern music. Without boldly choosing to venture outside of the comfort of the career they had established, chances are the scope of music today would drastically be altered in some trippy, Back to the Future kind of way. The fact is that sometimes expanding your roots is the only way to sustain your career. It isn’t regression. It isn’t selling out. It is simply a vocalization of who you have become as an artist. In my humble opinion, The Shins have become one step closer to being timeless.
SCORE: 10/10
Review written by Joshua Hammond
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