Album Review: Port of Morrow by The Shins
It's hard to believe that it's been five years since the last Shins album, Wincing the Night Away . A lot has changed in that amount of time, including the band's lineup. Frontman and songwriter James Mercer is the only original member, disbanding the rest and replacing them with new session players. Mercer has always been the driving force behind the group and opinions have been divided about whether he was justified in taking even more control. I'm not here to debate that or give my own opinion on the situation; I don't know enough about what happened behind the scenes and in the end this review isn't a commentary on the actual band but on the music. Thankfully, Port of Morrow delivers in this area, giving us a taste of what we've come to love about the band while simultaneously throwing some curve balls into the mix as well. Wincing the Night Away is, to my humble ears, a masterpiece through and through. It's one of my all-time favorite records a...