“Simple Song” is our first taste of Port of Morrow, The Shins’ first album since 2007’s Wincing the Night Away. What makes this album so special is that it is the first album on James Mercer’s label Aural Apothecary, via Columbia Records. Mercer can now add “producer” to his myriad credits, diversifying the fact that he is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. If this could not be exciting enough, Mercer’s got a new backing band by the likes of Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer and Yuuki Matthews of Crystal Skulls.
The result (or what we can assume will be, given that the actual album does not come out until March 20): a strong, multi-instrumental, pop-infused hit. Mercer may deem it a “simple” song, but it is anything but that. Beginning with soft echoes and a shaky electric melody, you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get, and then the chords are struck and the song flows. The escalation of Mercer’s lyrics, from ordinary to meaningful, cue the song to pick up the pace, “And you feel like an ocean being warmed by the sun”; it is beautiful and poetic, and for an artist as talented as Mercer, it is not too ambitious.
Mercer’s vocal range reaches its peak in the chorus, adding that extra bit to an already funky song. The way everything pairs together, lyrics and song transitions, vocals and instrumental variety, shows the patience used to create a song that plays with ease. As if we weren’t already, “Simple Song” pushed us even further off the edge of our seats for Port of Morrow.