Music Blog

The Shins (or, for all intents and purposes these days, James Mercer) have revealed the first sounds from the upcoming Port of Morrow. While it's not the acoustic guitar and voice number the title might imply, "Simple Song" is a mid to up-tempo number that keeps it more or less...simple (no saxophones or vocoder!). Mercer's rare high croon is still intact, yet the vibe here still seems like a discernible break somehow from The Shins of the past.

As previously reported, there'll be tourdates in 2012, with the live version of the band now consisting of Mercer, Richard Swift (keys), Yuuki Matthews (bass), Jessica Dobson (guitar), and Joe Plummer (drums). The ten-song Port of Morrow is available for pre-order beginning tomorrow, and is scheduled for release on March 20th.